Father’s Day was yesterday and my heart began rehearsing the life Ralph gave us as the father of our girls. My wonderful father has been with the Lord for 8 years and my children’s father has been with the Lord four months. I like to think of my dad and Ralph celebrating together! Both… extraordinary fathers.
My children’s father was a force of nature! His entire life was spent reflecting glory back to the God he served. He had a spiritual vision for the souls of men that was unparalleled. Ralph had “limited outside interests”. His real passion was reaching the lost. His every contact with others was an opportunity to present his Savior, Jesus Christ. His unconditional love for the hurt and needy caused him to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders!
Ralph was a comforter of the afflicted… and an afflicter of the spiritually comfortable. His name means “Bold Counselor” and political correctness was never his priority, if it meant a lost opportunity to present Christ. He was a man on a mission, focused on the eternal soul of every person he came in contact with.
He loved us, his inheritance…now left behind. Other than ministry, his first love was his family. He was determinedly committed to us and he taught us that it is only as we win souls and serve others that we permanently succeed in life. He instructed us to love the Lord, to pray, to love the scriptures, and the importance of sharing our faith. We learned that “the mark of a saint is not perfection or absence of faults, but consecration; a committed man… who has given himself without reservation to God.” A surrendered man! Ralph knew the greatness of a man’s power was THE MEASURE OF HIS SURRENDER to the Holy Spirit.
He led the way and focused on preparing our girls to live in a world filled with compromise, confusion and chaos! Ralph read the word and prayed daily for our daughters. Whether curled up in a hammock in the middle of the jungle or in a home in the states, he was consistent in his own life and taught us to be the same. Every morning we would find him at his desk with the Word open and ready to share what God had taught him. He was always available to listen and had an earnest concern for the welfare of his two girls, which one day was extended to his seven grandchildren.
Ralph was a gifted man. He was certainly a gift to us. He is the man who loved me and our girls…deeply …and always put us first. He was my husband, my best friend, my soul-mate, my rock, and my mentor… but most of all, he was the loving Father of our children and grandchildren. He has left an enduring legacy with his uncompromising testimony of God’s great love.…He was faithful… he was courageous…he was discerning…he led us with godly confidence and taught us truth…and he is sorely missed!
Godly fathers are a rare commodity…if you have one that is still on earth…
Don’t miss any opportunity to acknowledge his presence with a grateful heart…
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
