A hug and a kiss goodnight

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. . ."  Galatians 5: 22-23

I was blessed to spend a few days visiting my father and stepmother this past week.  Every visit with my father is precious - a priceless gift of time with a man who has blessed me my entire life.  On the occasion of his 80th birthday, our family put together a book of memories, pictures, and letters for him.  This is part of what I wrote:
"When I think of your influence on my life, I think of the fruit of the Spirit.  The love you have given, the joy we see in your face when we're gathered together, the patience with which you disciplined us, the kindness and goodness that are evident in all that you do, the gentleness with which you held and cared for your grandchildren, the self-control necessary to be a responsible husband, father, and son.  There is no way that I can adequately express how much your example. . .just the way you have lived your life. . .has meant to me."
Every moment of every visit now is a blessing, as my father is suffering from terminal cancer.   But the moments I spent each night I was there hugging and kissing my father goodnight were moments I will never forget.

“There’s no such thing as too much hug!” 

— Winnie the Pooh

My sister has written a beautiful post for her blog "Tarmama Wanderings" sharing her thoughts on what our family has been going through.