The Confidence to Start

I never saw him build anything. But when we moved to a new house and it needed renovations, somehow he knew how all the tools worked.

He was no mechanic. But when we inherited a yard-card from my grandfather, somehow he know how to get it started.

He was no roofer. But when the house needed new shingles, he didn't hire the job out. Somehow, with the help of his two teen sons, he got the job done.

He was no performer. But years later, somehow I still remember that, as an understudy, he commanded the stage as "the King".

He was no teacher. But, somehow he knew how to get the attention of a group, to make a point, and to make it memorable.

Most of the time, my dad had no idea what he was doing. But he never let that stop him.

Fear whispered, "You don't know what you are doing" or "You don't have the right skills". But the fear of the finished never kept him from starting. This is not to say things always finish perfectly. (They hardly ever did.) But somehow they got done, and done well.

This is a gift my father gave to me: the confidence to start.

Dad has been gone for 14 years. I think about him a lot; especially when I catch myself doing something he would have done. I try to be available. Teachable. Lead when necessary. Follow when appropriate. I start projects that I don't know how to finish. I finish projects I didn't know how to start.

As I remember him, he was no expert on anything really. But somehow my dad could do anything.

Somewhere, there is a picture of my dad with me and my brother. It was taken from behind us at our graduation open house in June of 1992. With one arm around each of us, he prayed for us and told us how proud he was of the men we were becoming.

I have to believe that when it came to being a father, my dad felt like he had no idea what he was doing. (Does any dad really have a clue about what they are doing?) But he never let that stop him from being a great dad.

______

Do you remember my dad? What gift did he give you?