FATHER'S DAY

                                                                  FATHER'S DAY

    We worship our Heavenly Father every day, and once a year we set  aside a day to show thankfulness and appreciation for our human father. Dad was a devoted husband and caring father. He was not trained for the ministry and was not denominational. He read his bible every day and led by example. He was not a bible-toting self righteous person claiming to be a Christian. He treated people as Christ taught in the Four Gospels.
  

  He did not claim to have any special gift, but when others had serious problems they came to him for prayer. And, did he have prayer power! As a very young boy I had recurring painful earaches. One bright summer day when I was nine, I suffered yet another  episode. I went to my bedroom, and my father came in, pulled up a chair to bedside and sat down. He had his bible with him. He looked at me as I lay in bed, unable to sleep because of the pain. He simply said "It's enough." He began praying silently, and I fell asleep. It was late in the day before I awakened. No more earache. It has been 70 plus years since that June Day, and I have never again experienced any problem with my ears.

    That was the first time I experienced the power of prayer personally. I knew that when Dad prayed, things happened. When people came to him with problems, he never broke confidence and spoke about the situation. I remember a day a few years earlier when Dad went to open our country general store in the morning. It was too late. Thieves had broken in during the night. My Dad called the police. Then he took his bible and prayed.
   

 Later that morning the police called and said they had caught two men they believed were the robbers. It was them. They lived about 25 miles from our rural store, and, as Dad explained, became confused when God "blinded their eyes". They could see, but got lost and kept riding around in circles, causing the police to be suspicious. The items
they stole were in the car, and all were returned.
  

  I was sold on Christ's message shortly after I learned to walk. There were so many of these "miracle" results from his prayers that I had no doubt about Christianity. I recalled scripture where a woman touched Christ's garment and was healed. I thought my Dad must somehow have touched Christ's garment to receive some of the power the
disciples were given.

    Mother always wanted me to go into the professional fields, but Dad always half teased me abut becoming a preacher. After college I did many things in several fields, and ignored God's call because I couldn't see myself as a minister like most of those I saw. However, I did eventually answer His second call. Dad was sort of awed that I actually studied for the ministry.
   

 When I reflected on Dad's accomplishments and how he always took the Godly path, I had that to compare with all I had learned and experienced working in other fields. Dad was not college educated, but took on many responsibilities. He was both the school board, superintendent, and secretary-treasurer of the one room school in Villanova #8. He hired teachers and installed playground equipment. During WW II, he was the area's Civil Patrol officer and Air Raid Warden. When we moved to the farm, he was a school board member who often went to Harrisburg to meet with state school officials. He set
up the first school lunch program in a consolidated rural school, several years before schools in area towns added lunch programs.
    

Dad's prayers and help with people of all denominations except a few who had "special" requirements to be their kind of Christian, showed me the need to be Christian, but not to be caught up in denominational do's and don'ts, nor be pious. He showed me life wisdom that some of my bible teachers probably will never attain. He stressed the basic
teaching of Christ as clearly explained in the Gospels. Next to  worshipping God is to love your neighbor. Much of today's Christian community has no love or care for the poor or needy. They equate all people who need help as lazy takers. They even want to change the name of social security to Government Entitlement Program. This is out and out stealing retired workers' savings through many years of work. And, it's Christian leaders who are pushing this.

    My Dad had a partnership relation with me. We had different skills, but the same purpose in life. He never expected pay or recognition for his ministry work. He always said he helped me  in my work until I was broke, and then I helped him until he was broke, and the cycle started over. Although Dad was always busy, he somehow found time to coach my team and practice with me. His unofficial college studies were of the self-help type, and he covered subjects from finance to history and geography. I was a voracious reader and he encouraged that. He taught me about the outdoors, from shooting and fishing to trapping.

    He had confidence in my abilities and usual common sense, and I was driving a tractor and doing field work ahead of most of my siblings. I know he was proud of me, and I'm blessed to have had a Dad who put me on the Godly path and pointed me in the right direction. We'll meet again and line up for further directions.

Thanks, Dad.  Rev. Walbear

The Rev. Walbear's mother and father pictured in front of their store.