[p o e t r y]

How my father loves

My brother remarked last night that he had had the sudden realization that our parents love each other and that they weren't simply parents, but that they were also a married couple. He commented that he didn't know before that they were lovers still, and had even wondered about it a times

As I think about that, I realize that I had often wondered the same when I was younger. It was not until I was an adult that I realize why.

My father loves quietly and my mother is quite loud. You never doubt that my mom loves you because she tells you with her words and she shows you with her affection. No stranger ever wondered of my moms attention or emotions.

My father on the other hand loves quietly and in a way learned from many years of studying the Bible, observing, and of learning how not to be his parents.

My grandfather shows love by buying things for you, and some days my father loves like that too.

It shows in the way that my father has given up his entire retirement fund for our education. It shows in the way that he spent thousands on a back porch for my mother without being asked because he saw it was rotting and he knows that she loves to read her Bible there in the morning. It shows the way that you bought me socks without telling me, not one pack but two

However my father
Has not just learned to love like his dad
But he's also learned how not to love
How my grandfather loves
My father also shows his loves through service.

When we were younger my mom used to tell us my dad was an acts of service kind of guy.
I didn't understand that until I grew older and realize that time is more valuable than all else. My father works three jobs and uses his time to invest in our future. My father runs mini clubs for the betterment of young individuals because he loves to help people grow. Most of all, my father serves as an elder in our church. On Wednesdays he sometimes is at church from 5 PM to 10 PM. On his only free day, Saturday afternoon, he spends his day preparing Sunday school and with our family. My father is a very busy man, but he always makes time for us... And really, his time has always been for us and for the kingdom most of all

02/09/23