With the tenth anniversary of my dad’s death coming up this weekend, I couldn’t help but reflect on the ten years that have come and gone since he went to be with Jesus.\u00a0 There’s much that has changed in the last ten years, and I often wonder what Dad would think about the change.<\/p>\n
Ipad’s, for example.\u00a0 Who would have thought ten years ago we’d have such a thing?\u00a0 I bet my dad would have loved them; not so much for practical use, but for the games.\u00a0 He loved his games, and to have them at the swipe of a finger…he’d be thrilled! I bet he would have played Words with Friends and would have been pretty fired up when <\/i>I won.<\/p>\n
There’s been incredible developments, but there’s been a lot of change on the home front too.\u00a0 The only grandchild my dad met was Ella, and I will never forget a special moment he had with his grand-daughter in the ICU. I remember Dad telling me how much fun we were going to have with Ella in the upcoming spring. She was ten months old at the time and was busily trying to crawl all over his hospital bed.\u00a0 He wondered\u00a0 if she would be a busy toddler too.<\/p>\n
Oh my word.\u00a0 At the time we were all ridiculously naive in thinking Ella was “busy.” \u00a0Ella, who would sit in her stroller hour after hour while I sat with dad in the hospital, was an angel baby.\u00a0 God knew what we needed at the time.\u00a0 It wasn’t until Polski number two and three entered the world that we understood God’s graciousness in having Ella as our first born. \u00a0Until number two, I had no idea babies got into trashcans and dog food. \u00a0Until number three, I had no idea the devil entered babies when you said, “No, you can’t.”<\/p>\n
I think my Dad would have laughed at my son, Jrod, through the years.\u00a0\u00a0 We had a cop visit the house a few days ago.\u00a0 Apparently someone called 911 after hearing a little girl scream at the top of her lungs, fearing a child-abduction.\u00a0 No, this what not the case.\u00a0 It was Lily, my youngest, and her brother in the back yard.\u00a0 The tornado siren went off for the monthly test, and Jrod took advantage of the situation:\u00a0 “Lily, it’s aliens coming to get us!\u00a0 You must put your head down!\u00a0 If you look up, they’ll suck us up to them!<\/em>”\u00a0 Thus the screaming.\u00a0 Thus the confusion about child abduction.\u00a0 Thus the cops.<\/p>\n I honestly think my dad would have laughed.\u00a0 But he also would have been so proud of his grand-kids (all nine of them now). \u00a0I will never forget the beautiful picture of seeing my son in worship a few weeks ago. \u00a0He was singing his heart out, not caring who heard him or who was around, and there, looking up to him in awe, was his little cousin. He saw how boldly Jrod sang, and within a few minutes, Jrod’s cousin followed his lead.\u00a0 Beautiful.\u00a0 And Dad would have loved <\/i>it<\/p>\n . So much change in the last several years:\u00a0 Change in jobs, illness in our family, children brought into the world, churches planted and grown….reflection on the past is good; I can’t look back on what God has brought us through and NOT remember his faithfulness to us.\u00a0 God is our help in ages past, and He’s our hope for years to come.\u00a0 His faithfulness remained then and it will continue for us in the future.<\/p>\n But that was not my “Aha!” moment.\u00a0 That moment came for me when I read and reflected on 1 Samuel 12:24: “Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.\u00a0 For consider what great things he has done for you.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Only (only!) fear the Lord and serve him with all of your heart<\/em>.\u00a0 It’s the simplicity of this verse that makes me sit here with tears in my eyes. Life is full;\u00a0 it’s full of the good and it’s full of the really, really tough.<\/p>\n As I reflect back, I have experienced both in profound ways.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i>And as I look forward, I can (and should) expect both.\u00a0 But my calling through this life is not to solve all difficulties or try to control my surroundings in order to avoid them.\u00a0 My calling is to trust Jesus and to serve him with ALL of my heart.<\/p>\n Before all else, Jesus.<\/p>\n I miss my dad, but I know that he wouldn’t leave the presence of God to come back and check out all the change…not for anything.\u00a0 In the end, it is Jesus.\u00a0 And so, before all else, Jesus.<\/p>\n We sing a song in church from time to time called “All I Have.”\u00a0 Each time we sing it, I find myself filled with deep emotion, and as I listened to the words again this morning, it occurred to me what is so profound about this song:\u00a0 it’s simple truth<\/em>…<\/p>\n All I have My kids?\u00a0 Their yours.\u00a0 My time?\u00a0 It’s yours.\u00a0 My abilities?\u00a0 They’re yours to do with what you please.\u00a0 My responsibility?\u00a0 To serve the Lord with all my heart.<\/p>\n Thanks, dad, for being an example of these simple truths.\u00a0 I look forward to seeing you again someday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday I taught our women’s Bible study.\u00a0 The study consists of a group of ladies whom I have grown to … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/katiepolski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/IMG_0203.jpg?resize=208%2C208&ssl=1\")
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\nAll I have
\nAll I have is yours.<\/p>\n