BST's Blog

Loved the comments yesterday! I can't believe my wife wrote that comment. Too funny. Some of you may not know--my wife is secretly a comedian by night. Actually, there has never been a time I felt more glad to leave something as I did those costumes. Supposedly, they went to the dry cleaners on the ship each week. My guess is, the well intentioned dry cleaners (who spoke ZERO English, by the way. I know this because I tried to tell them once that they turned my favorite khaki pants pink and ended up in this hilarious exchange that only led to confusion.) only sprayed something on them each time and sent them back. I know it's TMI, but those things could have stood up by themselves.

As we approach Father's Day this weekend, I thought I'd list some things I really appreciated about my dad. He will have been gone 13 years this October. Hard to believe!
Here some things I loved about Sam Thomas:

*He loved to laugh. There were few things in life, besides family and things of God, that gave him more pleasure than pulling the ultimate practical joke. He was, in fact, infamous for these jokes.

*He was a great friend and mentor to people. My mom still gets letters from people who talk about the difference my father made for them. I used to sort of resent this because I felt like he was all things to all people, but now it's something that gives me such joy! He was this way because he had those kinds of people in his own life. In fact, one made such an impact (Scott Hayes) that he gave me my middle name in honor of him. Scott's influence on my father is what made me began going by my full name.

*He was faithful...to my mom, to the Lord, to the Church. He served as an Elder and was a very wise man. He had an openness about him that only increased in later life.

*He liked to have me with him in all circumstances. He loved taking me to work. He never seemed too busy or too wrapped up in work to take care of us.

*He loved music. As a child he lost a good portion of his hearing to measles. So, along with that went most of his sense of pitch. Even so, he played the accordion in adolescence. Later in life he enjoyed playing the organ and harmonica...to an annoying degree. I remember the F# on our organ went out. I would lie in bed trying to go to sleep and hear my dad out playing a song. I would anticipate the notes coming and then instead of the F# being where it should be, the organ would play the F. It made my skin crawl.

*Throughout his battle with cancer he never lost faith in God. He never lost his sense of humor. In fact, the day he died, he played a trick on me. Knowing I hated snakes, he had placed an envelope on the movable eating tray near his hospital bed. He pointed to it and asked me to open it. It was one of those trick things where the rubber band was wound very tightly and when you opened it, it sounded like a rattle snake. I immediately dropped it in horror and he laughed and said... "Gotcha!"

In some ways it seems like a very long time. My dad never saw me graduate from ACU. He never saw me work as a professional actor or singer. He never knew of my adventures on the Caribbean Sea. (probably just as well!) He never knew of my near decade now in Nashville. He never met Sheryl. (He and Sheryl are peas in a pod. They would have probably disappeared on us going to work on crafts or talking about art techniques) He never knew his grandchildren. He never knew of ZOE, or our recordings, or our ministry. It's been 13 years. Some days it seems even longer, but in many ways it seems like only yesterday.

I typically try to avoid leading worship on Father's Day. Until my kids were born I dreaded that holiday--too many feelings of loss. Now, Father's Day means something different to me. It's a day to celebrate what God has miraculously given me. It's a day to celebrate a cherished relationship with my wife and cherished memories of my father. This Sunday I am leading--while dealing with conflicting emotions...grateful for my sweet children and still missing my own dad. (We'll sing "This Is My Father's World", my dad's favorite)

I'm thankful for several things today. I'm grateful that my dad left me a legacy of love. I'm grateful that he overcame a difficult relationship with his own father and was determined to be the dad he never had. I'm grateful that Sheryl's father is still living and that we'll get to see them this next week. I'm grateful for my sweet little girls who give me Eskimo and butterfly kisses every day. And, I'm grateful that my loving father gave me a healthy view of what God's love must be like. God--the Father to the fatherless! What a gift! Thank you, Lord!