50 Years Worth Celebrating

The Bible tells us to honor our Parents. My siblings and I are lucky, we have great parents.

This weekend we are all getting together to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of John and Conni Chapin. The actual anniversary isn’t until October but they live on a lake and August is a better time to spend at the lake. Plus their Grandchildren are busy people and it is hard for all 10 to be available at the same time during the school year.

I think my parents are wonderful. Evidence of their greatness is when we tell our friends about the party several have given us gifts and cards to take to the party. It is very moving when people go out of their way to honor our parents.

Reflecting on how our parents have gone about raising us I think it is best summed up by a story from about 15 years ago.

My Dad and I were together at a meeting where we ran into an old friend of his. Neither of us had seen the friend in quite some time and when my Dad updated his friend about the family my Dad pointed out I was a father of three.

The friend looked at me and remarked how he hoped I was able to be at least “half the parent of my Dad.”

I laughed and told the guy I was “a much better parent, then my parents.”

The friend got a horrified look on his face. You could tell he couldn’t believe I was saying such a thing out loud.

My Dad quickly said “he right, he’s a much better parent then me.”

I added “if I am not better than my Dad then he wouldn't be able to consider himself a very parent. It is my understanding part of being an excellent parent is making sure your children turn out better then you.”

My Dad again agreed.

The friend had no choice but to agree with us.

The point of story isn’t who is a better parent. My point was to acknowledge for my Dad it isn’t about him. It is about making the world a better place. He is serious about setting a good example and serving others.

It really sums up my parents. They want to make things better. The want to make a difference in the lives of others. They do it on a large scale by working hard for causes over the years. They have made a difference in several large causes such as The Hope Pregnancy Center, several local churches, and Associated Builders and Contractors just to name a few.

The bigger impact of their lives is day to day on little things. Just yesterday they threw a birthday party for Ben Jones, a friend of our sons, because he was away from home on his birthday. All summer, every summer, they host dozens of their grandchildren’s friends at their cabin. Our Mom never forgets a birthday for even the most distant relative. Their prayer list is so huge it boggles my mind. I could go on and on with examples about how my parents have serve others. If you are reading this and you know them you likely have your own stories.

My Dad coined the phrase “People making a difference for people.” We paint it on the walls of all our offices at Willmar Electric because it is our purpose statement. Our parents serve as a living example.

The Bible tells us to honor our Parents. Nancy, Justin, Allison and I are lucky, we have great parents.