My dad would often curse me and call me names.

He told me more than once that I would never amount to anything. Many times, I wanted to leave and escape reality.

I tried hard to make my dad love me, but it seemed impossible. I joined the United States Army at the age of seventeen and was in Vietnam on my eighteenth birthday. My dad and I almost never talked or associated with each other.

I spent my life trying to prove my dad wrong. He only called me when he needed money.

One day, Dad called and asked me to take him to the hospital. While we waited in the emergency room, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I was wrong about you! You are a good man. The only person I can count on.”

I was speechless. Then he dropped the bomb. He said, “The only reason I had you was to take care of your mom. You have to make sure she is taken care of!”

A few days later, he passed away.

My father was far from perfect and I spent years resenting him for it. But my heavenly Father is perfect. By God’s grace, I am able to forgive my Dad his shortcomings because I know I am unconditionally loved.