Daddy Day

Some time back I was listening to a conversation between TD Jakes and one of his daughters, Sarah Jakes Roberts and it reminded me of my dad. The conversation was a beautiful dialogue and gave validation, not only to her as his daughter but to those that listened. I saw the dynamic of their relationship and thought of my relationship with my father. He’s no longer with me but it’s times like this and so many other times I wish he was here, as I was for sure a daddy’s girl.

I’ve been intentional since his passing to focus on those things that are good and not to focus on the fact that he’s no longer here (while I truly wish he was).I focus on the time that I spent with him, the memories we shared, the laughter we shared, and what he imparted in me. It’s my goal to make him proud of me (even though he always told me how much he was) and to carry on his legacy. There are so many things I learned from my dad (whether he spoke it or through his actions) and on what I have now deemed, my daddy day (today is the day he passed 3 years ago), it is my honor to share some of the lessons I learned from my dad (just a few) with you.

Lesson 1: Trust God - I would consider my dad a great man of faith. He always taught me to believe God and his word. He shared his stories of faith, like how in his farming days, he thought him and his dad would mess up the crops because it was so dry and his dad reminded him to do his part and watch God do his and how it rained a little while later allowing them to have the best crop that he remembered. Or the time he told me that he quit his job for his own personal convictions and trusted God to provide him with another job, and God did. I can think of countless times of experiences my dad shared where God truly showed up and showed out. He always provided. As a child, my dad would often share scriptures with me to help me in different situations. I remember being scared and my dad having me to memorize the scripture, Psalm 27:1, “the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” To this day I still carry that scripture in my heart in times of fear or uncertainty. Trusting God was a thing he gifted me and it has kept me in the most uncertain times, even in his passing.

Lesson 2: Hustle Hard - As children, you don’t fully recognize or know who these people are that are raising you. My dad, was a hustler. LOL. Most of my life he had multiple jobs, he was a life-long barber (many wouldn’t know this). I’ve received several tape ups in the kitchen lol. He was a school teacher, turned school counselor and real estate broker. He was also a business owner (remind me to tell you one day about how God blessed him with that). His work ethic was unmatched. He continued to do real estate until the day he passed and he passed at the age of 87 (yes, I know he doesn’t look that old lol, we got good genes). I can’t say all these things about him without acknowledging who he got it from, my dad was a hustler because his dad was a hustler. My granddad did a few things outside of his farming, which also included selling suits and other things, but I’ll save that story for another day.

Lesson 3: Believe! My dad always spoke belief into me. He would encourage me in all of my endeavors, start a business, apply for a new job, move to a new city, “Bridgette, you’ll do great at that,” “I think that’s a great idea,” “Bridgette, it’s a lot of money to be made in this world, you might as well be apart of getting some of it.” No matter how things looked, my dad always encouraged me to keep the faith and believe. Believe God would do it and believe in yourself.

These are just a few lessons I’ve learned from my dad. I hope you were able to take some nuggets from it. Perhaps one day I’ll write a book about my dad and the wisdom he shared. That was truly his gift from God, wisdom, and I believe I was given the same gift. Just one of the ways I’m like my dad (and my face lol, apparently we look alike, so I’ve been told lol). May you always remember to Trust God, Hustle Hard, and Believe!