My Dad

Wilhelmus Cornelius Franciscus van den Akker

remembered

If you are like most good, red blooded, hard working people there are just a few times in life when you actually take the opportunity to stop and smell the roses; and when you do, you are glad and revitalized and you see that the reality of life is more then just your little world.
Then there are times when you have no choice, when tragic or momentous events cause you to stop and force you to smell whatever weed or pungent plant happens to be along the wayside.

I find myself in this event at both points, smelling a beautiful flower that has an aroma that revitalizes as well as a pungent plant that I would rather keep at a distance.

Over the past few weeks, I have been able to visit my dad and say goodbye, to say thanks for doing the best he knew how, to have him meet his Florida grandchildren one last time, and to pray with him that God give him the strength to continue as long as God has plans for him to remain on this earth.

I have also taken time to consider my childhood and my dad's influence on my life, and I would like to share a few things that I have learned from this man's life.

First, apply yourself in whatever you do, and do not give up, and you will find some success.
- My father was an electronics engineer for most of his life, and wherever he worked he devoted himself to succeed. He made a name for himself as an engineer, but he had no college degree. He went to a technical school and then taught himself his trade. He applied his mind to his work even when his colleagues scoffed at him for wasting his time without pay or compensation. He put in extra effort to learn; and because of this man's efforts, great technical achievements have been made. From “over-the-horizon radar”, to communication with space during the Apollo space program, to modern missile defense on warships all made possible, in small part, to this man's work ethic to apply himself to the job before him.

Second, in life you will not get anywhere unless you take a chance.
- My father took a bold move. He immigrated to a foreign country in the hopes of making a good life for himself, and many that know him would say that he had found and lived the American Dream. Coming to this country with a desire to work hard, he has lived and raised a family in a freedom that is still sought after by many.

Third, "No-one is perfect, everyone is limping, and when we come to the foot of the cross, everyone needs the grace and forgiveness of God and Jesus our lord and savior."
- not my words, but his. I would like to say that my dad was a “great dad", but he was not. My dad knew that he was not perfect. He repeated that to me a number of times, especially over the past few years, and he knew that one of the answers to that imperfection is the forgiveness through the blood of Christ. And this he did teach me: that all must believe in the forgiveness through the blood of Christ to be allowed into heaven, and even though he often made his life his work, and he had his own problems that caused him to limp in body, mind and spirit, he did teach me that most important thing: Without Christ we are all lost, and it is up to each one of us to learn to walk through life with Christ.




Please take my dad's life and death to remember these three things, and one more - stop to smell the roses every once in-a-while, with purpose and intent. Add it to your schedule of things to do each day and each week - start with your spouse and then your children, and then go on with your life. If you do not, you may find that the roses have all gone, and all you have before you are weeds.

Now, in remembrance of that one important and strongly held belief: that there is a life after this one, that there is more then what we see before us, that there is a purpose to all that is, and that is Jesus Christ and all that He stands for. We should rejoice and be glad because we can have confidence that this man has gone from this life to the gates of Heaven and entered in.

RCvdA