“Dad is with the Lord”.
A ringing phone and those words jarred me out of sleep a week ago today. I wanted it to be someone else’s story, not mine. I wanted to go back to bed and have it be a terrible dream. But it wasn’t. My father, David Virkler, had been called Home.
These past few days have been filled with tears and there’s an ache in my heart that I’ve never known before. But in the midst of it, I’m becoming so aware that while a great man left us, he left us (he left me) with something precious.
A legacy.
My Dad spent his life telling others about Jesus. He preached in big churches and small ones. He spoke in camps and conferences and even other countries. His voice was heard on the radio and his words were read in print. The testimonies of those who were impacted by his ministry have brought us comfort as we received cards and notes and phone calls this week. Even in the last few days of his life, he wanted others to meet God. He would hand tracts to his nurses and tell them he wanted to see them in heaven.
We didn’t know he’d be in heaven so soon, but God did. And God used him up until the very end of the earthly life he lived so well.
A legacy is something handed down from the past. Dad’s earthly life is past now, but he’s left all of us with an example of what it means to put God first, what it means to serve and to lead and to love.
I could never have the widespread influence and impact he had. I’m not on the radio, I’m not a great speaker, I’m not nearly as bold as he was. But maybe I could influence and impact one person today. Maybe I could find the courage to tell someone else about Jesus. Dad would want that.
Thanks, Dad.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalm 16:6
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him. Proverbs 23:24
Anticipatience 
And how pleased it must have been for your father to know that his love for the Lord resonated with the child he raised. With my father who just turned 82 and who is recovering from a nasty foot infection that required surgery, I am realizing all the more the importance of having pursued a purposeful life that is within the context of a God-filled life. I share in the community that is blessed by your literal gifts as I express my deepest condolences for the loss of your dearest daddy. I also think this same community is elated at the fact that now your father is with Jesus and is looking down at you, an acknowledgment not many people are able to make at the passing of a loved one. Are you entangled by two major emotional experiences–mourning and joy? I know my father is saved and will one day meet Jesus in heaven but I don’t even want to think about that day. Suppose when matters are taken out of our control, the options we are left with are the ones we work with. I have a feeling you are choosing to accept your earthly dad is now in the best place he could be. Thank God, you are a woman of strength that has had practice in wielding her shield of faith and declaring the promises of God over her life. Thank you for sharing a heartfelt time in your personal life to me and putting into practice what we believers know to be true–when we are weak or in need, we can and ought to go to Lord, for our strength comes from Him.
CaSandra
Yes, CaSandra, our strength does come from Him! We are learning so much about God’s faithfulness through all of this. We continue to focus on what Dad has gained rather than what we have lost. We will see him again in glory – and that makes it easier to get through today! Thank you for your words of encouragement!