Editorial Page

To Know Him Is To Love Him

Tomolynn Torrance

"I keep asking that the God of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better."

As Father’s Day approaches, I am reminded that the observance of this special day has changed drastically over the past few years for my husband and myself. We still celebrate a very traditional Father’s Day with our son honouring his father, but Tom lost his father eleven and a half years ago, and I lost my dad two and a half years ago. We can no longer share the day with our fathers the way we once did. I find that for me, Father’s Day is a day that is filled with memories of my dad that I can now accept and allow to flow because time has distanced them from the pain of losing him.

This year, my thoughts seem to centre around an event that I consider to be pivotal in my relationship with my father. It occurred several years ago during the final stages of my journey to attain a high school diploma. At the age of 40, I went back to school. In the course of my studies, I decided to take an OAC history course. At the end of course, I was expected to submit an IRP (independent research project); the subject matter could be derived from any material that the extensive course had covered. (This was a wide choice for the course had spanned everything from Galileo to World War II.) I agonized for some time over the decision, trying my best to narrow the field. Then I was lead to a wonderful thought; I had a first hand witness to W.W.II very close to me in my father, who was a Canadian Armed Forces veteran of the war.

He had never really talked about his war experiences when my brother and I were growing up. His memories of that time seemed painful and difficult for him to relate to us. However, he and my mother had offered me every encouragement when I had embarked on my quest for higher learning. I felt that because of his interest in what I was doing with my life, he might be persuaded to talk about his experiences to help me out. He very graciously agreed, and the discussion that followed turned out to be the most marvelous revelation for me. He opened his life to me; he exposed all the fears that he had endured, spoke about all the horrors he had seen, and shared all of the life altering experiences that he had witnessed during his time over seas.

I discovered who my father really was that day. He revealed to me areas of his life and his personality that, prior to our conversation, I had not been aware of; I gained a fuller knowledge and understanding about him because of it. I cherish the opportunity that I was given to speak with him in this way. I feel especially grateful for not only was I given the chance to experience this, but my dad was spared long enough to see me graduate before he died.

What a wonderful discovery it was for me to learn these things about my father and to truly feel that I knew him better, more intimately. I find now that I try to carry this experience with me into all of my human relationships. It has helped me in my relationship with my Heavenly Father as well. My earthly father was revealed to me when I sought to know his true nature. The nature of my Heavenly Father can only begin to be understood when I take the time to know Him better. Through His Word, He reveals His love for us, His adopted children, by showing us His plan for our salvation. We can only understand the magnitude of that love, His strength, His power, and His mercy when we seek to know Him better through our study of the scriptures, our prayers, our participation in worship, and our sincere desire to serve Him more completely in our daily lives.

Tomolynn Torrance is a member of Grace Community Church (Thorold, Ontario) and a member of The Pioneer editorial committee. As a writer, she has used her gift to provide the Guest Editorial for this issue.