Father's Day

I participated in several writing contests during my years at college. I never considered myself much of a writer and certainly never had any expectations of winning. I did it as more of a self-improvement project. They were the sort of competitions where you showed up, they gave you a topic, and you had an hour or so to write about it.

One year the subject was "What is your favorite holiday and why." I wrote about Father's Day. It was probably an unusual choice for a female college student, but it was an honest one. I have a lot of happy memories of Father's Days.

For years, the Detroit Grand Prix was held on Father's Day. All through high school and a few times during college, my Dad would take me down to the race. He did a lot of work with Motorola in those days and would get invited to the courtesy tent they had at the track. We would go after church, eat free lunch, and watch the race. I can't say I'm much of a fan, but I enjoyed the experience, just because it was special time with my Dad.

That essay came to mind today. This was the worst Father's Day I've had - I spent much of it in bed crying. I know for my Dad, however, it was his happiest one ever. He got in free again, but this time, admission was courtesy of the blood of Christ, not Motorola. The food was no doubt far better than what we had at the tent. He was part of a crowd of people from every tribe and nation cheering for something far more glorious than a car race.

"I can only imagine. . ."