Parents will love their children throughout their lives and no matter how old they get, they will always be that amazingly beautiful children that filled their lives with joy. Sometimes, however, we do not realize their unrelenting sacrifices until we become parents ourselves; sometimes we are so busy with our lives that we forget they are getting old.

Here's a heart warming and touching narrative of a beautiful, uplifting and moving parental love, faith and dedication inspired by the writings of Susan Fahncke.

I awoke in the night to find my husband, Marty, gently rocking our baby son, Noah. I stood for a moment in the doorway, watching this amazing man with whom I was so blessed to share my life, lovingly stroke Noah’s fat pink cheeks in an effort to comfort him. This was one of several nights Noah had been up, burning with a high fever.

Tears filled my eyes as I watched my beautiful husband move Noah’s little cheek up against his own chest, so that Noah could feel the vibrations of his voice. Noah is deaf. Learning to comfort him has brought on a whole new way of thinking for us. We need to use touch, his soft blanket, the feel of our voices, and most importantly, the use of sign language to communicate emotions and a sense of comfort to him.

We had taken Noah to the doctor more times than I can remember. It had been a week and a half and Noah’s fever remained very high and very dangerous, despite everything the doctor or we had tried.

I offered to take over for him, but he shook his head, and once again, I was amazed at this wonderful man who is the father of my children.

When morning finally came, we called the doctor and were told to bring him in again. Our hearts filled with dread, while waiting in a small room. Our doctor finally came in and told us the news we expected. Noah had to be admitted to the hospital. Now.

The drive to the hospital in a neighboring town seemed unreal. I couldn’t focus on anything, couldn’t think, couldn’t stop crying.  It was a tortuous night, filled with horrible tests that made my son’s tiny little voice echo through the halls as he screamed over and over.

Marty and I had prayer together with Noah. We held our son and the love of my life lifted his voice to the Lord, telling Him how grateful we were for this awesome little spirit with whom He had entrusted us. With tears streaming down his face, he humbly asked the Lord to heal our son. My heart was filled with comfort and gratitude.

A short time later, the resident doctor came in. He told us that Noah’s first results were back, and that he had Influenza A. No spinal tap was needed! Noah would recover and soon be back to his zesty, tornado little self. We were told that it was fine to take Noah home. We couldn’t pack fast enough!

A few days later, I was cooking dinner. I felt at peace and knew my husband was the greatest father I could ever want for my children. I peeked around the corner into the living room, and chuckled at the picture I saw. There was my husband, sitting in his “daddy chair”, Noah in his lap.

They were reading a book, dad taking Noah’s teeny hands to help him form the signs for the words in the book. They both looked up and caught me watching them, and my husband and I simultaneously signed “I love you” to each other, then to Noah. And then Noah put his little arm up, trying to shape his chubby hand in his own effort to sign “I love you” to his daddy. I watched with tears as my husband carefully helped him form his tiny fingers into the sign with his own gentle hands.

We have learned how some parents had bargained with God a lifetime of sacrifice for the life of their child; how they gave everything they had to raise the child. Parents have only good intentions for their children but in raising them, sometimes they make mistakes. We should understand because they were made out of love and their desire to prepare their children for a better future.

Let us ignore their shortcomings and remember them not only on Mother's Day nor Father's Day but in every opportunity we have. The greatest of all in the eyes of God is the amount of love and gratitude we show them. No matter how successfully we have scaled in life, we let Him down if we are indifferent to them. The Lord remembers our love and kindness to our parents. He does not ignore our indifference to them either.

We invite you to check out this related article: http://www.timyrna.com/5thcommandment.htm

By Tim Pedrosa

You may sing along. Now playing:

Daddy's Hands
~ Holly Dunn ~

I remember daddy's hands
folded silently in prayer
And reachin' out to hold me,
when I had a nightmare
You could read quite a story
in the callous' and lines
Years of work and worry
had left their mark behind

I remember daddy's hands
how they held my mama tight
And patted my back
for something done right
There are things that I'd forgotten
that I loved about the man
But I'll always remember
the love in daddy's hands...

Chorus
Daddy's hands were soft and kind
when I was cryin'
Daddy's hands were hard as steel
when I'd done wrong
Daddy's hands weren't always gentle
but I've come to understand
There was always love in daddy's hands.

I remember daddy's hands
workin' 'til they bled
Sacrificed unselfishly
just to keep us all fed
If I could do things over, I'd live my life again
And never take for granted
the love in daddy's hands

(Repeat Chorus 2X)
 

Life was a lot simpler when what we honored were father and mother rather than all major credit cards. ~Robert Orben~