A special thanks to Monica for sharing a few special "Kodak Moments" with dad through the years!
We have a rule in our family. We celebrate the Mother’s & Father’s Day ahead of time for the grandparents, and the actual day is reserved for the parents in the trenches of raising the kids. Therefore, we set aside the actual day to stay at home so we can allow the spouses and kids to celebrate mom or dad all day (although any family is welcome to join us at our house). The person being celebrated doesn’t have to lift a finger, are usually met with their favorite meals that day, lovingly handmade gifts from the kids, as well as a given a nice gift.
This year, Father’s Day is going to look a little different. Our entire family will be traveling across the country to celebrate and honor the life of my dad, Carl Manis by opening a food kitchen that bears his name, as well as his life’s passion—feeding hungry children.
Dad grew up like most of the children we will be there to reach: on his own and hungry. My heart aches every time I hear the stories of him being a child without shoes or clothing and that he would experience a real hunger that we have never truly realized. Real hunger isn’t simply eating a late lunch. This lack brought on a great sense of ingenuity in young Carl and its one of my favorite stories about him. As a child, he traded a bicycle he was given for a donkey…then traded the donkey for his first horse. Those who knew Carl realize that he was an avid horseman and created a thriving and esteemed horse business that birthed and trained national champions. He didn’t always share these humble beginnings with others, but he did share the result of it—a lavishly generous heart to feed others. Food, for my dad, was most certainly love. He would pour this on people of all ages. It would be a rare instance if you went out to a meal with him and talked him out of paying for the entire party even if it was six or seven families of people—if you did, it was because you discreetly paid. But, he had a special spot in his heart for feeding kids...
I remember several times I became frustrated with his heart to feed kids—particularly mine! Guess who snuck them their first solid food as an infant? Their first ice cream cone? Their first candy? Several bags of candy snuck into their pockets after a meal at cracker barrel for the car ride home? You guessed it, dad. I used to get frustrated. Now, I see the love and my heart yearns for him to overload my kids with sugar just one more time. Man, he loved his grand-babies and made sure they never had an ounce of lack in any area—and clearly not the sugar arena.
It has been 10 years since dad passed. So, this Father’s Day, we’re going to make up for lost time. We will be sitting aside 10 days to honor the life of my dad by opening a food kitchen that will feed, love on, and care for over 5,000 hungry children each year in Callao, Peru—all as they hear the love of Christ. We have suitcases packed with clothing, toys…and, you guessed it, candy!
Dad, your legacy lives on. Thank you for instilling in us hearts for those who are hurting and hungry. You showed us that kids don’t deserve the situation that they’re born into, and it is up to the rest of us to make a difference for them. We’re making a difference in Jesus’ name—and the kitchen bears yours! Moreover, your grandchildren will also see first-hand the need to make a difference in our world—what an inheritance you are giving them. Proverbs 13:22 (ESV) says this: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”
A special shout out to my hubby who is giving up his Father’s Day of rest, to show our kids that they are called to make a difference in this world. I love you Matt—happy Father’s Day!
