Through the Valley Toward Resurrection
Dear Southport Congregational Church,
Psalm 23 speaks to me during this time of Lent. I think of my darkest days, in 2003, during the end of my father’s life.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul…Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me”.
Ron Parady was a wonderful father who lived his life to the fullest. He loved and trusted in God, and he loved and trusted in his family. And it is why his life ending at the age of 63 was so difficult. Cancer cut his life short. And at sunrise on Father’s day, June 15, 2003, at Norwalk hospital, he took his last breath. And we were all there, surrounding him and witness to his life in physical form coming to an end.
My grief from his passing took me to dark places. But 23 years later I am able to reflect and be thankful for all that he gave me during my lifetime. His love of learning through education and travel to Europe led me to study abroad in Paris during my undergrad term, and then to go on to get my MBA in New York City some years later. My Dad loved to read and loved the arts and to this day I am a lover of books, movies, theater and art. My Dad was an intensely kind and humble man. In my home office, above my desk, I have a sign that reads “Stay Humble” and it makes me think of him.
I am also grateful for all that I still get from him, although he has passed, if I am paying attention. My father was an actor. The last play he was in on Broadway, “Proof”, is about to be revived this year. His episodes of Law & Order and Hill Street Blues replay on TV when we least expect it. And he is resurrected in my life. Dragonflies in the springtime remind me of the day we buried him at the cemetery in Stamford. They landed on us, aggressively, I might add, and I now know that is a physical sign of his spiritual presence.
And instead of grief, I am now filled with love and peace, for he is with me, always and forever. As is Jesus.
Elizabeth Fera (Deacon)