April 13th, 2010
True Tuesday Treasures
Today’s Tuesday Treasures are true treasures – they are my dad’s National Service Medals issued by the National Mint posthumously. My dad worked as a Police Officer for twenty five years in the South Australian Police Force, from 21st August 1961 until he died on the 23rd November, 1986; and he loved his job. To him it wasn’t just a job, but he lived for his work, and was a straight down the line policeman. To him, everything was either black or white – there were no greys. Hmmm – I wonder where I inherited that trait from!?? He was only 54 years of age and died of a massive heart attack.
To my dad, there was no time off – if he saw something happening that was wrong, he was a police officer and he simply did his duty. Dad was a very special person, and I know that these medals are only possessions, but they remind me of the very special character traits that he had – the tenacity to get the job done, honesty, forthrightness, responsibility, punctuality, reliability, kindness, gentleness and a person who was utterly devoted to his family and his career.
We also have Dad’s Certificate of Service hanging on the loungeroom wall – he was a man of integrity and we do miss him so. He never met his grandchildren, as he died five months after we were married, but I’m sure that he would have doted on them with the same loving kindness that he showed us.
Dad showed me how to budget well and it is only through him and his words of wisdom that we own our home and cope so well financially. There were so many things that I wish I’d said to Dad – thanked him for helping me to understand finances and for his love and that he was always there for me. I wish I’d said I loved him more often than I did. He didn’t often show his love outwardly, but more by the things that he did, such as fixing my old bomb of a car so that I wouldn’t get it defected.
During his last week of life, he came out to see us, and as he was leaving, he said, “I love you” – I think he knew that he didn’t have much longer on this earth, for he wasn’t one for mushy sentiment. I treasure those words more than any possessions, but how do his grandchildren remember him with only the words that were spoken to me? The few possessions that we have of his are all that will remain of a true gentleman one day, but I hope that our children know what a true treasure their grandfather was and is.
During his last few years on this earth, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, and I do so long to meet up with him again one day, but in the meantime, I shall rest in the knowledge that he’s with Jesus, safe in the everlasting arms.
Thank you, Mary for hosting Tuesday Treasures, for today’s treasures were a very special trip down memory lane - a few tears, but more for the happy times than out of sadness, and the missing of a very special person,
my
Dad!
I am a daughter of the King of Kings, seeking to live a godly life and mirror the love of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Thank you for sharing your very special Dad with us all, Jillian.
To know that he is with his Lord and Saviour must be such a comfort to you.
Wonderful keepsakes of a very precious Dad. Your children will know their Grandad through your very warm and special recollections.
Great Tuesday Treasures , Jillian
Jillian, I have tears in my eyes, this is so beautiful! I would treasure those mementos and the memories as well. I,too, miss my dad terribly. He passed away four years ago and this Friday would have been his birthday.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
What a beautiful post! I love learning more about you, Jillian! God Bless!
Hi Jeanne,
I miss my dad so much, but to know that he is with the Lord is a very great comfort, and I look forward to being with him one day.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
Hi Ruby,
Thank you – my dad was a very special person, and it was great to take that trip down memory lane.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥
Hi Anne,
Thank you – my dad was such a very special person, and I miss him terribly, too.
I empathise with you, as each year when my dad’s birthday comes around, I think of how much we have all missed by him not being here, but I remember the good times that we have had.
I pray that Friday will be a special day for you, remembering your dad and the special times that you’ve had together.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Jillian–
Thanks for sharing those Treasures. The thing I love about the treasures are really seeing the stuff that isn’t precious because it is “stuff” but rather that it brings back memories that we want to keep. Your dad sounds like a great man. Just hearing about him makes me feel safe somehow.
Hi Therese,
Thank you – my dad was soooo special.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Hi Mary,
You’re very welcome! My dad was such a special person – a one in a million Dad, friend and confidante.
Thank you for hosting Tuesday Treasures.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
Jillian, I too enjoyed learning more about you, your life, through your Tuesday Treasures. What a pillar of strength your Dad must have been.
Call me cynical, but I don’t believe there are a large percentage of policemen out there with high principles or morals. Not all are bad I know, but the temptation for corruption is a strong one. How nice to read about a ‘good’ one.
You Mum, whether she realises it or not, was a very blessed lady really. A wonderful Mother, and a good husband. And, a lovely daughter
(not to mention precious grandchildren). Maybe one day, she will know the Lord, and realise the blessings He has bestowed on her life.
Blessings to you friend…
Hi Amanda,
My dad certainly was a pillar of strength! I have had the pleasure of knowing many policemen, and the majority of them have high principles and morals. Oh sure, there are the ones who take bribes and are open to corruption, but they are in the minority, rather than the majority, and beware, their sins will find them out!
My mother was blessed beyond measure, and yet she never realised it, for my Mother and Father were divorced when I was 14 – sad, really. I don’t think that she realised what she had until it was gone. My dad was devastated, but eventually he moved on with his life, and we were closer than ever before.
I keep praying that one day, she will come to know the Lord.
Have a wonderful and blessed week,
Love, Jillian ♥
I know… I shouldn’t make blanket statements about any profession. Just had a couple of bad experiences recently with a local policeman, and heard a few stories. But, of course, you always hear about the ‘bad’ ones as that is what people normally remember. I am sure the ‘good’ out number the ‘bad’.
What a beautiful tribute to your Dad. I am so grateful for men (and women) who are willing to put their lives on the line every day for our safety.
I’m glad that you will be able to see your Dad again some day. I know the joy and peace that knowledge brings.
Hi Amanda,
Everybody always remembers the bad things about anybody. Nobody hears about the policemen who get hit across the back with an iron bar while delivering a summons, and who have back trouble all their life, like my dad did, and no one hears them yelling out in their sleep. A policeman’s lot is very often not an easy one, so please spare a thought for the policemen and women who help to keep our world safe, and think what a horrid place it would be without our law enforcers. Sure, there are some who spoil it for everyone else, but the majority are just “trying to do their job”.
I remember the policeman who took me for a ride in his motorbike and sidecar, the one who “locked” me in the police cells to show me what it felt like to be in prison so that I would never want to go there, and the policeman who spent time doing crossword puzzles during night shift when I used to go and visit him at work – they’re just people, too.
Sorry, this is not meant to condemn you, just trying to let you know that police are people, too. They make mistakes, just like me!
I love you, my friend,
God bless you, Jillian ♥
Hi Heather,
Thank you – my dad was very special!
I, too, am so grateful for the men and women who help to keep this world safe for us.
Have a wonderful week,
Love and blessings, Jillian ♥