My mom would say it was love at first sight. And she is probably right. I have thought my dad hung the moon as early as I can remember. I was “Daddy’s girl” from the very beginning. Even though he has only known me for 26 years, I have known him my entire life. He was the first man to hold me in his arms, he was the first man to tell me he loved me, and he was the first man I ever loved.
Dad made me chocolate milk every single morning until I was
about 8 years old. He left for a men’s retreat once, which was probably the
first time I remember him not being at home with Mom, Mack, and me. Truth is,
Mom could have made it better than Dad, but I was not drinking it. That was our
thing. I have not had a glass of milk since. I am telling you, our bond is tight.
One non-Dad-made cup of milk and I have never looked at milk the same again. With our strong bond, he shared his passions for sports, the farm, and Jesus with me.
My love of sports came directly from Kerry. Well, not all
sports are created equal. There is football, basketball, and track, but mostly
football. NASCAR and golf are used strictly on Sundays to create a better environment
for a nap. Saturday afternoons were spent watching college football and playing
basketball on our gravel driveway. He was my biggest encourager all through
school with sports—spending extra hours in the gym to teach me how to shoot in
the trees (tall girls—I sometimes played post at 5’3”), taking me to run and
jump at the track on the weekends, and always making sure I remembered sports
were not the most important thing in life.
Despite what some may think upon meeting me, I take the
title “farm girl” seriously thanks to Ol’ Kerry. We checked cows together
nearly every morning that I did not have to go to school. Dad let me steer the truck in neutral while he
kicked hay off the back, and he never made me open a fence. Given the
opportunity, I would gladly choose to sit on the arm of a tractor chair just to
hear him hum as he worked the ground or baled hay. My most cherished memories
come from riding in the farm truck with him from Grandma and Grandpa’s house
back to ours, listening to him sing songs from his Promise Keepers soundtrack
that was always in the cassette player: “If
the Lord had not been on our side, all our enemies would’ve swallowed us alive.
They would have swept over us. If the Lord, if the Lord, if the Lord had not
been on our side.”
That leads me to my most favorite part about Kerry
Gillham—he is not just my dad. He is my brother in Christ. He is the one who told
me who Jesus is. He is the one who showed me how to live life as a
follower of Christ. Dad is so gracious—even in the difficult times of growing
up, he showed me Jesus's love, grace, and mercy. He seriously is the most
humble person I know. He showed me what it looks like for a man to love his
wife as Christ loves the Church. He set the standard high as a tangible
example of a man after God. As I grow older (and he does, too, like 50 years old), I see the
blessing of him being my earthly father become sweeter and sweeter. I thank my
Heavenly Father for such a blessing.
Dad, thank you for everything you have done for me. You are seriously one of my most favorite people on the planet! Thanks for being your goofy self. Most importantly, thank you for sharing the Gospel with me at a young age and living it out as an example for all to see. Your influence on my life and others’ lives for the last 50 years is incredible. I am thrilled to watch how the Lord will use you in the next 50 to come. I am SUPER grateful to call YOU mine!
Happy 50th birthday, Daddy! I love you forever!
