My dearest dad, I want to thank you for holding me during all the times in hospitals when the IVs seemed more like swords. I want to thank you for holding me close as I sobbed my senior year when the boy I liked asked a different girl to prom. I want to thank you for holding our family together with integrity, strength, honor, dignity and unconditional love. I want to thank you for dancing with me on my wedding day; I know I will always find better days somewhere over the rainbow. I want to thank you for rescuing me from every tower that held me captive my teenage years. I want to thank you for every word you have ever spoken to me because not once have those words tore me down, discouraged me, made me feel unloved or uncherished. I need to thank you for every moment in life you ever gave me and taught me. My sweet father, I trust you and honor you because of the imprint you have left on my very being. My cheeks will forever remember your slobber kisses as you dropped me off at Kid’s Kingdom. My petite frame will always remember your hands as they lead me into the water seven years ago as I said, “Jesus is Lord.” My head will always find its home in the curve of your shoulder because for so many years it has been the safest place to cry. My ears will always remember the wise words you spoke into them, the warmth behind every discipline, and the flicker with every word of inspiration. My hands will always know the squeeze of yours – the reassuring grasp that let me know you would never let go. I will always remember being on your shoulders, standing on your feet as we danced in the kitchen, and the honest love behind every “I love you, buckwheat.” My feet will always recognize the godly path you have lead our family down because it has been the only path worth walking these 22 years.
My precious papa, I love you because you bring a calm that settles into the cracks of all my bones, a calm that reminds me of the promises God breaths into our ears, a calm that settles every bead of sweat that pours forth when I think of tomorrow, a calm that warms me and reminds me time and time again of the one and only truth.
My maiden name will always be worn across my heart with respect, unconditional love, and honor. I made my home in the palm of your hand and I wrote my name along your heart vein. Shelby is a member of the Fort Collins Christian Church. Her father, Greg Jackson, is an elder in the Denver Church of Christ.