As we sat facing each other in comfortable reclining chairs that were quite a luxury considering just outside were simple campsite cabins, I could feel the friction between my father and I building like mismatched gears. The weight of his experience and wisdom threatened to swallow my stubbornness. I just would not relent.
The more time I spend with my father, and observe him as he carries out his ministry here in Alberta, the more I marvel at his ability to read people. Walls that often block many do not do so for him. The problem is that I understand much of what he does and have built a resistance to it. Or so I’d like to think.
“Dad you know what you are ‘not’ asking me to do is basically going to kill any chance of me… Well you know… Not that I am looking for that… Cause of my priorities… But still if the possibility exists… And who is to say that it would even would play out negatively because of me… I’m just me you know…”
“Anak you are correct… But shouldn’t we err on the side of trying to do the right thing? ”
I hate it when he pulls out that card.
“These people are new. They don’t know anybody. They might already feel left out. You know what its like to be new…”
Flashback to Glendale, California in the mid 80s. My father behind a Veggie Hot Dog stand in the hot California sun making minimum wage. A Veggie hot dog stand no less! My entire family sleeping on a mat in a room not much bigger then most teenage bedrooms. Culture shock. My first encounter with prejudice because of race. Rejection by a church organization that my father had dedicated his life to serving on so many levels.
The more time I spend with my father, and observe him as he carries out his ministry here in Alberta, the more I marvel at his ability to read people. Walls that often block many do not do so for him. The problem is that I understand much of what he does and have built a resistance to it. Or so I’d like to think.
“Dad you know what you are ‘not’ asking me to do is basically going to kill any chance of me… Well you know… Not that I am looking for that… Cause of my priorities… But still if the possibility exists… And who is to say that it would even would play out negatively because of me… I’m just me you know…”
“Anak you are correct… But shouldn’t we err on the side of trying to do the right thing? ”
I hate it when he pulls out that card.
“These people are new. They don’t know anybody. They might already feel left out. You know what its like to be new…”
Flashback to Glendale, California in the mid 80s. My father behind a Veggie Hot Dog stand in the hot California sun making minimum wage. A Veggie hot dog stand no less! My entire family sleeping on a mat in a room not much bigger then most teenage bedrooms. Culture shock. My first encounter with prejudice because of race. Rejection by a church organization that my father had dedicated his life to serving on so many levels.
Yeah I knew what it was like to be new.
“If you act the way that you do. You put out the message that you are too proud and that you are on a higher level than them. No matter where we are we should always remember that we serve.”
“Great everyone is going to think that it is something it really isn't.”
He smiled.
“Since when did my son care what people think about him as long as he knows that he is doing what is right.”
He got me.
While what I did next did not exactly solve world hunger I’d like to think that it let a few people feel like they were appreciated and accepted. Plus I feel I met someone truly sweet and beautiful who'll probably be a great friend.
“If you act the way that you do. You put out the message that you are too proud and that you are on a higher level than them. No matter where we are we should always remember that we serve.”
“Great everyone is going to think that it is something it really isn't.”
He smiled.
“Since when did my son care what people think about him as long as he knows that he is doing what is right.”
He got me.
While what I did next did not exactly solve world hunger I’d like to think that it let a few people feel like they were appreciated and accepted. Plus I feel I met someone truly sweet and beautiful who'll probably be a great friend.
In the end, I guess if the tables were reversed and I was feeling like an austrasized and out of place... I’d want someone to reach out and say…
“You’re worth being with.”
“You’re worth being with.”
The Saga continues. The story of Romil is far from over...
2 comments:
Romil, you've captured so well the eternal tension between fathers and sons (without the usual Oedipal problems!). And you tell a great story. It not only is a great story, you tell it in a beautifully narrative way.
again, another mind provoking thought from the fingers of you:) You're a real natural story teller, and you can really bring people into the thick of the plot. But we all have a story to tell, and I enjoy you sharing with us your friends:) Praying for you always, my dear brother in Christ, always:)
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