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He was a respectable man, honored by those who knew him, especially by his eleven children, 30 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, and a wife of 60 years. He never earned a college diploma, no CEO title to his name, but he led by example through discipline, honesty and integrity. He budgeted his meager income without a financial consultant nor any knowledge of business planning, but he calculated the financial figures in his brain, an extraordinary ability for someone who just had a 2nd grade education. Amazing how a humble, destitute farmer who toiled with his callous hands and sweat under the scorching heat of the sun without the help of modern machinery, supported and nurtured his big family. He sent his 11 brood to school and all grew up to be responsible citizens of their community.
“He only has three months to live. Lung cancer that spread to his liver.”
The news stunned his loved ones, so they never told him about the sad news hoping to spare him of the grief. But somehow, because of his lingering pain, he knew that those were his last days, especially when his family summoned their family Pastor.
“Do you know where you’re going when you die?” The Pastor was direct but concerned.
“No, I don’t.” Right then, he uttered the “Sinner’s Prayer” for the first and the last time.
Pastor asked the same question when he visited him the second time, “Do you know where you’re going now?”
“Of course I do now!” He answered without any hesitation as he gasped his breath.
His face was calm and I can read “peace that passeth all understanding” written all over him. He came to know Jesus Christ few days before he said his last goodbye. He called his wife and each of his children and asked them to forgive him of whatever shortcomings he had caused them. I touched his callous hands and furrowed brows. If only I could touch his heart – I would.
A day after Father’s Day - June 1997, my father passed away leaving us a legacy of his love. My eulogy summed up my deepest sentiments, “what he sowed was what he reaped.”
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