There was a man who would go out of his way to not only help someone in need, but to discipline with the same love. He was a man of deep integrity and character.  A man who stood by his morals and his yes was yes, and his no was no.  There was nothing false about him.  If he said he would do it, it was done.

I remember as a young high school student something that has kept a profound virtue in my own heart.  I used to steal money from his hiding spot on a weekly basis.  This caused many problems between my mother and father.  Little did I know at the time, that this money was to pay off debt for our family.  I was sitting in my bedroom one morning before heading off to school counting some of the leftover money that hadn't been spent yet.  It was a hair over $100. The next thing I know, dad walked into my room, surprising me of course.  I quickly attempted to brush all of the money under my pillow.  Needless to say, I failed.  He asked me "what are you doing?" I said nothing with that oh-no look on my face. Dad took the pillow and was able to retrieve the cash I had taken.  All he did was walk out of the room without saying one word to me.  I could visually tell he was upset.  But he never punished me for what I had done for well over 1 year. Dad never let anything before this to go unpunished, so you can imagine what I was thinking.  " I thought he was going to come in any minute with his belt and do me in.  I chose this story in order to share that in this moment of my life, I experienced something new that I learned from my dad....grace.  I don't believe he was able to forgive me for this for a long time.

After the many years of ups and downs of a father-son relationship, I was always able to love him no matter what. He was a rock for me even when we were thousands of miles apart. I was broken to see his health decline, but I know his grace was sufficient for me throughout my whole life.  This one act on my father's behalf helped me find the King of all Grace, Jesus Christ. Knowing a Fathers love is half the battle when it comes to understanding unconditional love, even when it hurts.  Dad, Thank you for always being there and for helping me know Grace in such a personal way through some of the worst moments in my life.  I will always love Him and always be grateful                         Your son, Taylor