He is a wonderful man. He taught me how to hike, camp, raft, backpack, learn, and love life. He is definitely one of the biggest blessings in my life. I would like to tell you a little story about him.
Last summer, I was employed by my dad. He runs a cabinet/carpentry business and a granite business. I was employed full time to work in the granite shop. Start to finish, I cut the stone, rodded it, glued it, edged it, polished it, installed it, the works. I can make a granite countertop, my friends. I can.
Dad taught me how. He taught me everything I know. As I worked, there came a time when I had made enough counter tops and understood the work well enough that we developed a really nice system. He would draw the plans, explain to me what needed to happen, and then I would get to work and come ask questions as needed.
One day, we went through this process, and I went back into the shop to start cutting out the stone. About 1/3 of the way through my cuts, I looked again at the plans and realized that what I was doing was not in line with the way it was supposed to turn out. I had cut out the stone completely wrong.
Now, had I not gone to college or understood just how much a slab of that particular granite cost, I probably would have reacted differently. As I had gone to college, the worth of a dollar had taken on an entirely new meaning for me. I stepped back, looked at my handiwork, and realized that in approximately ten minutes, I had completely ruined something that was a monetary equivalent to a semester's worth of tuition at BYU. I was beyond mortified. I had a complete meltdown. I stared at my work mentally beating myself up. How could I have made a mistake that bad???
It took me about ten minutes to work up the courage to go tell Dad what I had done. I was afraid. I was afraid we would have to scrap it, and he would have to eat the cost of my mistake. I was afraid we weren't going to make our deadline. Most of all, I was afraid he would be disappointed in me.
I walked to his office a complete basket-case. I told him, and he came back with me to the table. ...and he reacted.
There was no anger, frustration, or disappointment to be found. He didn't send me home so I wouldn't ruin anything else. He asked me a few questions so he could figure out where the misunderstanding had been. He measured a few things, and then told me exactly what to do to get the rest of the countertop to fit. He told me how to fix it, and he made sure that I could see that everything was still alright. He put his arm around me and told me that I didn't have to cry over it. Then, he went to his office and left me-- trusting that I could do what he had asked.
I learned a tremendous lesson in that moment. I learned how I should react in such situations. I learned a great deal about my father's patience, and I saw just how much he loved me. That day was one of the worst and best days of the summer. It was a day when I realized, once again, how wonderful Dad is.
I don't know what I did to be blessed with the wonderful parents I have, but I am very grateful for them. They are such a blessing in my life. Together, they have shown me what is most important, and they have shown me how to love.
I love my parents, and especially my dad. He's a wonderful man. And I love him.
