This weekend I was able to ask my Dad a few questions (lots, actually) about his life. There are many more questions I could ask and I think it might be a good idea to keep a list of future questions that pop into my head. I think in some ways it's hard to interview people close to you because you already know so much about them that you can overlook obvious and important questions. Despite my interviewing shortcomings, here is part of our interview.
My Dad, Robert (Bob), is the seventh of nine children born to Hosmer and Ella Belle. He was born at home in Caladonia, Michigan a really long time ago :). He married my mother, Clarice, after they both graduated from Grand Rapids School of the Bible and Music and together they had two children. Four years after my mother's death, Dad married Judy (also widowed) and within a few years they moved their blended family to Canada where my Dad currently pastors a church in the Toronto area. Dad and Judy are enjoying being grandparents and are looking forward to retirement sometime soon.
Starting with the easy questions:
Favorite Book (other than the Bible): "Called and Committed" , read in the summer of 1979 and "Brendan" by Fredrick Buechner. "Brendan" is a historical fiction book that was a requirement for a church history class. I appreciate Buechner's premise in his writing that your life is a story and has a plot which shows God's work in your life through the years.
Favorite Movie: Tender Mercies and O Brother Where Art Thou
Favorite Song: Great is Thy Faithfulness
Special Bible Verse: Philippians 3:13-14- Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Favorite Food: Anything from Cracker Barrel, green beans and meat loaf.
Favorite Place on Earth: The Brooklyn Tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York.
A Place You've Never Been to But Want to Go: England- to see the countryside and see where our family originated.
Memorable Present as a child: A marionette puppet that had its own stage. As an adult, a leather coat given by mom (Clarice).
In what ways do you resemble your parents? Like my father, I am introverted and quiet in groups of people. Like my mother, I enjoy laughter, good food and going out.
Memories of Grandparents? I only knew my maternal Grandfather. He had a good sense of humor and liked to tease. He kept ginger snaps in the cupboard and the kids would take them (and he knew it!). He was a widower for a long time and a retired farmer. He lived in a log cabin and raised corn, beans, cattle and hogs. Whenever we would visit him, we would arrive late at night and would have to wake him up so he could let us in. It was always an adventure to stay at his house.
Early Memories: Locking brothers and sisters in the outhouse. Since none of them thought I was tall enough to reach the outside lock ( I was three or four), I never got blamed for it. I also remember getting bitten on the face by a mother dog when I went to the neighbor's house to look at their puppies. I had to get a tetanus shot after that. I also remember a car crash that happened right outside our house while we were playing outside. I remember street dances, ox roasts and fireworks in the park in Caladonia.
Favorite music/entertainment as a teen? Everly Brothers, Righteous Brothers, Beach Boys, Sam Cook, Gunsmoke (TV), I Love Lucy, Westerns on TV.
What jobs did you hold as a younger man? In high school I gave piano lessons and did some babysitting. I also worked as a junior counselor at Dorion Bible Camp in Canada. At seventeen, I worked as a stock clerk at Woolworth's in downtown Grand Rapids. After a year or so at that job, I worked at Merill Lynch sending out bills for stock purchases. Both jobs helped put me through Bible School. One summer I traveled in singing groups and in my second and third years I was the director at a Bible conference/teen ranch in New Hampshire during the summer.
When did you know you wanted to be a pastor? As a teen-ager I knew I wanted to do something in Christian service. For a time in high school I took business classes and briefly considered a career in business, but I always felt a calling towards ministry.
When did you learn to play piano? I took lessons in the eighth grade from our church pianist. At the time, I didn't appreciate all the emphasis on correct fingering and technique as it seemed too academic and not creative enough. I can and do read music, but I often play using chord structure and by ear.
What attracted you to mom? Her smile. I liked her upbeat, natural ways. I thought she was beautiful and had a sweet manner.
When did you know she was the one? After a Youth for Christ rally I took her back to her dorm and gave her a good night kiss. I realized then that I really cared for her.
An important goal you have fulfilled? Completing my seminary education. I began working on it while pastoring in California, taking classes on weekends and on breaks. When we moved to Colorado, I continued on at Denver Seminary. Seminary education gave me confidence that I was trained in and had a wider exposure to theology.
What are you looking forward to in retirement? More time for travel, writing and reading. I hope to complete a project I have been working on which is looking at a Biblical evaluation of burial versus cremation.
Any Advice? Come to terms with your life, your past (including hurts, disappointments, deprivations, losses) and accept it as God's working in your life. When you are comfortable with yourself (and your past), you can move forward in confidence to what God has for you.
Thanks, Dad! Now I'll need to think of the rest of the questions I forgot to ask!
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