The Story of My Dad and I: Part 2

When you idolize someone there always seems to be a point when they let you down. 

Guess what? My dad let me down.

In the fall of my second year of college I was in my dorm when I got a phone call from my Dad. I could tell in his voice that something serious happened. I listened, and shook with disbelief at what he had to say. He was the owner of a business that had been on the cutting edge of technology at the time, in order to properly fill the demand my Dad received loans from the government for this kind of company. In a pinch on funds, he misused one of the loans and hoped to pay it back before it had been discovered, before it became an issue. Unfortunately for my Dad the funds never came, his business fell on hard times. My Dad was unsure of what to do, at this point the only thing he could do was tell the government loan officer, ask for patients and forgiveness. The more time went on the less patient the government was on him, until someone else took hold of the case and decided to convict him. Just like that!

My world was turned upside down. 

My father could be going to prison?

I was so angry at him! I wanted him to be punished for what he did wrong, but mostly because he let me down. I felt betrayed and abandoned. My dad and I argued every time we talked, I had lost my respect for him and it show through every conversation we had. I no longer want to be just like him. I kept seeing faults in him that I was working on in my own life, and it looked like he wasn’t trying to change. To have someone I look up to and love so much, fall from a pedestal I put them on was crushing, more than I could handle. You know, all of this happened at a time where it's natural to rebel and question your parents in order to gain more independence as an adult. There is always a time when parents fall from high up where you had placed them as youths. It was just so extreme; my little heart couldn’t take it. I fell into a depression, before I found my comfort in Jesus Christ. My Heavenly Father who is worthy of any pedestal He is put upon.

Last family picture before...

My father was sentenced and spent a year and a half in Federal Prison. It was surreal; we just did what we had to in order to survive. The Lord slowly softened my heart. I was surprised to find that the more I grew in the Lord and learned about myself in my Father’s absence, the more I understood the man I had idolized. 

Part 3 will be posted on July 5th ~ my dad's Birthday.