Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
June
20, 2010
My father’s example made a
huge difference in my life
Today I will find a quiet place and spend a few minutes talking
to the Lord. I want to thank him again for my father’s influence on my life. Daddy
died at age 93. Since his passing I have realized what a huge difference he
made in my life.
Many people have colored the way I
look at life. Some touched me with pastel colors, calling from me a gentleness
that I long ignored and is not yet fully developed. Others, like my dad,
stroked me with bold colors that birthed inside me a driving ambition to
succeed.
I doubt that Daddy ever decided to exert
his influence upon my life. It just happened. He simply influenced me by being
the person he was. Mainly he influenced me by the power of his example – by the
way he lived his own life.
Daddy was strong physically and mentally.
He worked hard all day – from sunup till sundown. There was not a lazy bone in
his body. When he encountered a problem he seldom ever quit until he found a
solution. He was doggedly determined to reach his goals in any endeavor.
Few things could deter him once his
mind was made up. If the cattle needed feed on a winter day, bad weather never stopped
him. No matter that it was storming outside, that bitter, cold wind was
chapping his face, he would not rest until the work was done.
I don’t think Daddy ever slept eight
hours any night of his life. He had a routine from which he did not waver.
Bedtime was
Growing up in that environment gave me
a strong work ethic. Life is made for work. Get up.
Get at it. Don’t waste daylight. Put your hand to the plow and go, man, go.
Your work comes first. Don’t let anything stop you. Keep at it until you get
the job done. That attitude was engrained in me from my childhood. Years later
I realized that Daddy did not work hard so he could “feather his own nest;” his
work was a labor of love motivated by a desire to give his family a better
life.
Daddy’s honesty influenced me as
strongly as his work ethic. He was a man of his word. He meant what he said and
he expected the same from other people. He had no patience with liars and when
he caught me in a lie, my rear end got a painful reminder of how important it
is to tell the truth.
Growing up I became aware that my dad
had a good reputation. I was never ashamed to be known as his son. People
trusted him and that meant something to me. I was proud to be his son. I never
heard a man speak ill of my dad and that gave me a desire to be an honorable
man myself.
Now and then I encounter children in a
family who show disrespect for their mother. They ignore her authority and talk
to her as though she is stupid. Such lack of respect nauseates me and my father
is responsible for my attitude. He did not tolerate any disrespect of Mama from
me or my siblings.
We learned that we would pay a price for “talking back to
your mother.” To this day I am thankful for my dad’s example in this, and I
deplore the way some dads allow their own children to treat their mother. Tolerating
such disrespect can injure a marriage and allow children to develop a
despicable attitude.
Daddy did not talk much about his faith. He lived it. His
reverence for God was contagious. He did not have to teach it; we caught it
from his example. In 93 years I never heard him one time take God’s name in
vain. And he honored God by being a good steward and by the way he treated
people.
Daddy was not perfect. He was an
impatient man and sometimes he could be as hard as nails. But since his death I
have realized that he exerted a mighty influence upon my life. He influenced my
attitudes powerfully and in many ways I am the product of his example.
On this Father’s Day I remember with deep gratitude his
influence upon my life and the lives of my siblings. That is why I will find a
time and place to thank God for his kindness in giving me such a Dad. + + +