FATHER'S DAY 2006
IN LOVING MEMORY

ROY E MAYNARD JR
ROY E MAYNARD SR
ED ESTEP

Father of Pam, Cam and Tim

Father of Roy

Father of Carol

"Parable For A Father"

The young father set his foot on the path of Life.
"Is the way long?" he asked. And his Guide said,
"Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old
before you reach the end of it. But the end will be
better than the beginning."

But the young father was happy, and he would
not believe that anything could be better than these
years. So he played with his children, and
gathered flowers for them along the way, and
bathed with them in the streams, and the sun shone
on them, and life was good, and the young father
cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this".

Then night came, and storm, and the path was
dark, and the children shook with fear and cold,
and the father drew them close and covered them
and the children said, "Oh,
Father, we are not afraid for you are near, and no
harm can come." And the father said, "This is
better than the brightest of days, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came and there was a hill ahead,
and the children climbed and grew weary, and the
father was weary, but at all times he said to the
children, "A little patience and we are there." So
the children climbed, and when they reached the
top, they said, "We could not have done it without
you, Father." And the father, when he lay down
that night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is
a better day than the last, for my children have
learned fortitude in the face of difficulty.
Yesterday I gave them courage, Today I have given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which
darkened the earth - clouds of war and hate and
evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the
father said, "Look up! Lift your eyes to the light.
" And the children looked and saw above the clouds
an Everlasting Glory, and it guided them beyond
the darkness. And that night the father said,
"This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the months and the
years, and the father grew old, and he was small
and bent. But his children were strong and tall and
walked with courage. And when the way was hard,
they helped their father; and when the way was
rough they lifted him, for he was as light as a
feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond
the hill they could see a shining road and golden
gates flung wide. And the father said, "I have
reached the end of my journey. And now I know
that the end is better than the beginning, for my
children can walk alone, and their children after
them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with
us, Father, even when you have gone through the
gates."

And they stood and watched him as he went on
alone, and the gates closed after him.
And they said, "We cannot see him, but he is with us. A father
like ours is more than a memory. He is a living
presence."

~Author Unknown~

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Carol Estep Maynard |