Today was Father’s Day and, as this day comes to a close, I want to pay tribute to the man who was “father” to me: my great-grandfather, William Gray—or “Pa Bill”, as all of us grandchildren and great-grandchildren called him. Pa Bill was actually my maternal grandfather’s step-father; he had no children of his own. So, for all practical purposes, from the time he and “Grandma” agreed to take me in at two-months old, I was Pa Bill’s son.
I would have to write a book to fully describe Pa Bill’s significance in my life. Pa Bill had very little education and held no position of significance in the eyes of the world. But, I thank God, he was a real man: God-fearing, law-abiding, hard-working, dependable and honest—someone a boy like me could look up to.
He’s been dead for nearly 18 years, but his influence lingers on in my life. I hope and pray I can have the same lasting influence for good in my sons’ lives that Pa Bill has had in mine.
“The glory of children is their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6b).
I would have to write a book to fully describe Pa Bill’s significance in my life. Pa Bill had very little education and held no position of significance in the eyes of the world. But, I thank God, he was a real man: God-fearing, law-abiding, hard-working, dependable and honest—someone a boy like me could look up to.
He’s been dead for nearly 18 years, but his influence lingers on in my life. I hope and pray I can have the same lasting influence for good in my sons’ lives that Pa Bill has had in mine.
“The glory of children is their fathers” (Proverbs 17:6b).
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