Grace under pressure

Yes, it will. My father died 36 years ago, and I still miss him. You will always miss your father when he is gone. Thank God that your children have at least known him in their childhood. Years later, even though they won't remember him and miss him the way that you will when he is gone--you will be thankful for that bit of God's grace. I still regret that my kids never met my own beloved Dad (and Mom), and I'll bet that Luke will feel the same way if/when he has children of his own. God bless and keep all Tim's family in this time of grief.

It is a terrible day, indeed. It was about a year ago when my Dad passed away. He was 46 years young and it was just the most terrible experience I have ever had. He still had a full head of black hair, very little silver at all, and it was all I could do to tear myself away from him when the time came to close the casket and load it up for the trip to the graveside service. He was buried with the honors due a military veteran, in the beautiful cemetery outside Knoxville, TN, in view of the blue hills. My children will never know him, but you can be sure they will know of him, and what a kind, decent, loving man he was. The only thing extraordinary about him was his heart: he could see what inspired and what motivated the people around him, he had a great empathy and unmatched love for everyone around him, almost to the point of naivite.

I couldn't even go to services on Sunday, for I knew that would be the main topic. The pain is not ever-present now, a year later, but when it recurs it's just as bad as it was the first weeks and months after I lost him.

In a society in which the word "awesome" is over-used to the point of being meaningless, something like this restores the meaning of the word. I am in awe of this grieving son and his eulogy.

What a fine young man. Like father like son.