I recently attended a church service following the sudden death of my wonderful father and as I listened to the sermon, I felt incredibly moved as everything the preacher was saying seemed to apply to Dad.
"New Year Resolutions", called the ‘7-UPS for the New Year’,
was taken from an idea by Reverend Walter Schoedel. No, this has nothing to do with the soft drink. These 7-UPS fall under the heading of attitudes and actions. They totally reflect the way Dad lived his life. He was a practising Christian, a Good, no, EXCELLENT Samaritan and quite simply a TOP BLOKE.
The first UP is WAKE UP–Begin the day with the Lord. It is His day. Every day was a new day for Dad and until recently he had a commitment every day except Thursday.
The second UP is DRESS-UP–Put on a smile. It improves your looks. It says
something about your attitude. One of Dad's life mottos was GO THROUGH LIFE WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE. He certainly put a smile on ours, he was always making us laugh. And we will continue to smile as we remember all those wonderful memories he left us with.
The third UP is SHUT-UP–Watch your tongue. Don’t gossip. Say nice things.
Learn to listen. Dad never moaned and he was also very forgiving. What a great example to set us.
The fourth UP is STAND-UP–Take a stand for what you believe. Resist evil. Do
good. Dad's other life motto was ALWAYS GO THROUGH LIFE TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT THING. He was a good man.
The fifth UP is LOOK-UP–Open your eyes to the Lord. Dad did, he also always looked on the bright side of life. His glass was always half full, never half empty.
The sixth UP is REACH-UP–Dad was prepared to go to great lengths to help us children in our chosen careers (he had high hopes for us(!), taxiing my bro around the country to play football and cricket,and interests, like picking sis and I up from nightclubs at silly oclock, just being a totally devoted Dad.
Finally, the seventh UP is LIFT-UP–Be available to help those in need–serving,
supporting, and sharing. Here I could go on forever, he spent his life helping others, what a Good Samaritan. He tirelessly cared for both Mum and Nanna, he was chief sick visitor at work, he spent 19 years volunteering at the local hospital, pushing the tea trolly round Ward C4.
Do you know what? He was alright, my Dad.
