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Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. ... My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know that when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is (1 John 3:1-3 CEV).

Somewhere down the road, there'll be answers to the questions.

Somewhere down the road, though we cannot see it now.

Somewhere down the road, you will find mighty arms reaching for you,

And they will hold the answers at the end of the road.
"Somewhere Down the Road" by Amy Grant

Dear Dad,

I really miss you today. It hit me as I was listening to Amy Grant sing "Somewhere Down the Road" and writing daily devotionals. It's also Father's Day and I'm away from the kids — they're both grown now and neither has any memory of you; that really hurts sometimes. I watched Indie last month just like we did when I was a kid — a Scot named Dario Franchitti won and referred to one of your favorite drivers, Jim Clark, as his hero. And, I'm watching the U.S. Open today after church just like we used to do. Anyway, as I spoke honestly with our Father while listening to those words of promise being sung, my heart reminded me just how much I miss you. I'd love to have you sharing my journey down my road of life.

There have been so many wonderful things in my life that I wish you could have been around to share — your precious grandchildren, the way your boys are serving the Kingdom, the accomplishments and character of your daughters-in-law, the way mom came through all the tough times, and the exciting new music in the church today. You'd really love it all! I miss not getting to share it with you until I get somewhere further down the road.

I don't get it and probably never will.

I guess that since you're somewhere further down your road, you have more answers to your questions than I do. I've still got questions without answers ... lots of questions. Now don't get me wrong, I don't doubt my faith or the Father. It's just that there are so many unknowns and unexplained things that dot my life. So many of those things are good ... but some of them are not.

Now I also have to be honest about that good stuff I've got questions about. It's hard to understand why I should be so blessed. And I am — 30 years of marriage, two great kids, a wonderful daughter-in-law, friends, ministry opportunities everywhere I turn, and lots of family in town. For much of that, I have you and mom to thank. You two taught me what was important. You stressed how important it was to find others that share those values as I journeyed down life's road. You showed me how to work hard, have fun, live with passion, and love children. So now, I've been blessed in many ways simply because I've lived what you and mom taught me.

But, there are harder things that intersect and disrupt life that are difficult to understand. Your long illness and your death at such a young age are still hard for me to understand and see so unfair — I don't get the why of all of that and probably never will. I have often wished that I could have leaned on your experience and wisdom instead of having to blunder my way through. It's really hard learning things the hard way. It's even harder trying to help others who are going through tough times and not having any good explanations for them, much less any short-term solutions. I trust that somewhere down the road they'll get their answers, too.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, I just wanted to say, "Thanks!" and, "I miss you," and "some days are harder than others to wait until I'm 'Somewhere down the road' when I think I won't need my questions answered because they won't trouble me anymore."

Love always,

Phil

[Al "Buddy" Ware passed away after a long battle with a very difficult and painful illness in September of 1980 shortly after his first grandchild was born. He was a godly man, a song leader, "Daddy Al" to many beloved teenagers and college students, an elder in the Lord's church, and my dad. Even though I'm now older than he was when he died, I still miss him. Some of you know all too well what I mean. If you're missing your dad today, I'd love to hear about him on my blog.

Grace to you until we are all reunited ... "Somewhere down the road"!]

 

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© 2007 Phil Ware. All rights reserved.

Title: "Down the Road"
Author: Phil Ware
Publication Date: June 17, 2007

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Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Southern Hills Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas. For the past 10+ years, he has also been co-editor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. For more details, click here.

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