Called on by the creator of everything

By Andrea A

All throughout my childhood, my dad was basically all I had ever known. Sure, my mom was there, but she hadn’t been in the picture quite as much. My dad, due to having a troubling upbringing, decided he wanted more for us.

We would constantly go on trips, live lavishly in San Francisco with such beautiful views of the Bay Bridge. All while never lacking anything. He put in the work so that we wouldn't have to ever relive the same childhood he had.

One sudden night before a trip we were going to take to Cabo, something unexpected happened. What had seemed to be a normal car ride turned into something else for my father. He had collided with another driver that had been driving drunk coming from another state.

We did not know the difference that this would make in our lives. His back, over time, became worse due to the fact that he had a physically demanding job. And not only was he left injured, but he was also left with a lot of extra money.

My dad is the kind of person to always be looking at our financial status. When the lawsuit was dealt with, he decided it was finally time for us to have a place to call our forever home. This home came to be brought up in Fresno.

I was actually the one to decide that this home would be perfect for us. There was a big yard, beautiful fruit trees, and best of all, a pool alongside a hot tub. Many months had gone by and this one day, I remember coming back from being with my mom. My dad's life had been forever changed.

He looked different. He told me, “I went to church with your grandpa to go visit a pastor. She told me things about myself that I've never told anybody.” He spoke on how his suppressed feelings of hatred towards his father had been discovered and announced that day in church.

“She said I was supposed to die that day of my accident.” I remember the feeling of how my heart sank. I knew deep down that what he said had been true. He told me that the only reason why he was going that day was to give God thanks for everything, including the new house.

We went back home and over time, my father became a new man. He sought out to give thanks to God more and with that, he became what everyone can call a “religious Christian.” While many can call him this, he is striving to be closer to God, the literal creator of mountains, sea, and everything in between. No man could interfere with this.

Following up with this new interest of getting close to the church one evening, we were talking to the pastor and she was speaking on how she would be in Utah for a couple days for both of her sons’ birthdays. We were all joking on how we would be there in a couple hours and soon enough, it did turn into a trip to Utah.

This would ultimately be the last trip with me, my brother, and my dad as a family. The states leading to Utah being Arizona and Nevada were stunning. Once we had reached Utah, it was a grand experience to bond with new people. We came back home and still continued to be more involved with the church.

One day after church, my grandpa came to be lingering in the presence of my dad and the pastor. He made a joke about when my dad would ask out the pastor. This led them to talk and eventually come to the conclusion that they had indeed developed feelings for one another.

Within a short span of months, they came to be married. My family has now expanded and I now have a step-mom that is a pastor and two new brothers and another dog. I love them all so much. I find them all to teach me something and yet my father still remains to be one of the biggest influences.

My father teaches me and everyone around him to cherish life, even if our current bodies won’t be in this form forever. He makes sure that I am aware of the fact that no matter what, I have to be kind and patient, always willing to push through the difficult times and ask God for guidance.

Nowadays, you can still see him working harder than ever even though he still remains injured from his crash three years ago. One bible verse that encourages him is this: “And so whatever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men.” - Colossians 3:23

He realized that his physical body is not for his own wants but for serving God’s needs. It’s because of him that I'm left to remember that no life is worth living for when you are far from the one that gave you that air in your lungs.

I too hope that I’ll eventually be able to follow in his footsteps with all my heart, never looking back. In the end, one thing is for certain—no plan made by man will ever surpass the one God already has made for us.

For the Warrior Times, this is Andrea Ayala.