A Fathers Legacy

I hold his face in my hands and my heart fills with an over-abundant and exuberant love for him. Oh how I love him. Will he have passion? Will he have zeal? Will it be for the Master? My hearts deepest desire is for that to be true. Where will he go? Who will he meet? I ask these questions now but they have been asked before. They were asked 50 ½ years ago of a boy named Joe by a dad named Dub. They were asked 22 years ago of a boy named Cole by a dad named Joe, and I ask them now of my son Oren. What do we pass on to the boys we love? What is the legacy we leave? The lyric to this song sums up the Chambers family legacy as I know it from Dub to Joe to Cole and with the blessing of the Almighty to Oren.

 

Carolina Blues

by Tyrone Wells

 

Grandpa was a preacher and he lead the singin too

 and grandma use to yodel and tell us what to do

 and grandpa drove a limousine but just on Saturdays

 and he would tell the crying families about Jesus by the grave

 and he was always smiling and whistling a tune

 Grandpa had the kindest eyes Carolina blues.

Once I knew this girl whose grandpa was a millionaire

 and when he kicked the bucket she was the only heir

 and he left her with everything more than she could dream

 truckloads full of money with a castle by the sea

 but he was always lying as selfish as he could be

 so he left her with empty words and painful memories

 now grandpa didn’t leave me money I could spend

 I guess that he didn’t have much money in the end

but my grandpa was an honest man seeking after truth

and grandpa had the kindest eyes Carolina blues.

Now Grandma had a daughter and then she had two sons

 and one became my father when he and ma were done

 and I might be the richest man to ever walk this earth

 cause I was left with so much more than money could be worth

 and my dad’s just like my grandpa he wearing worn out shoes

 but hes a man that I can trust he always tells the truth

Now maybe dad won’t leave me money I can spend

 my guess is that he won’t have much money in the end

 but my father is an honest man seeking after the truth

 daddy got my grandpas eyes Carolina blues.

 

The only comparable love I can find to this one shared between a father and a son is this from 1John 3:1 “How great is the Fathers love he has lavished upon us that we should be called Sons of God.”

I have received lavish, rich, liberal, and exuberant love passed on to me by the men that bear the same last name as me and how I long to have that said of my love for my son. A fathers love can pierce the heart of a man so deep words cannot express. I find comfort in this passage from Proverbs:

“As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another”

 This is the legacy that I have inherited. There is a strong likelihood that if I don’t screw up this whole fatherhood thing, what has sharpened me will sharpen my son and the generations to come.

Thank you Dad and Grandad.