Today, I celebrate my mother and father! Their love for each other is what brought me into this world! Apparently, they were planning a trip to Europe, but—unexpectedly—I came along, so they always said that I was their European trip. I am thankful that I was raised by parents who loved the Lord Jesus, who taught me the stories of the faith and instructed me in the way!

Dad was a little guy, but he always said, “Dynamite comes in small packages!” He could beat me in a foot race or in a wrestling match well into his sixties! We would rough house and get carried away until we broke something or someone would get hurt. I can still hear Momma say, “Oh, Ernie!!” One of Dad’s favorite parts of being home in the states was being at Bible camps. He was like a pied piper with children, probably because he himself was a big kid at heart. He had a mischievous streak in him that ran a mile deep. I am thankful for a father, who far from being perfect, loved his children, loved the Lord Jesus, and passed on to us the legacy of true faith! He was an evangelist at heart, embarrassing us with his boldness in sharing the Gospel. We would pull into a gas station and as he would start to talk to the gas station attendant we would sink down in our seats, knowing that we were in for a long wait. Next thing you know, he’d have the gas station attendant kneeling next to the pump receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. Oh, to have half of his boldness!

Momma was pure compassion! She had the most infectious laugh, loved to pull practical jokes, and told jokes and carried on until we all would be crying from laughter—not having any clue about the punch lines of some her favorite jokes—only leaving us laughing all the more! I remember when I was six and had the first of three surgeries on my sleepy eyelid. The little boy in the hospital room next door had been badly burned. His own parents understandably had difficulty sitting with him as he screamed in pain. For the three or four days I was in the hospital Momma would go and sit with him and comfort him throughout the day. We grew up nestled in her lap, encircled in her arms! I am so thankful for a mother who lived the compassion of Christ—not only to those around, but to her children as well! So on this day I honor those who brought Harry, Eleanor and me into world! Each day brings us closer to seeing them again!