My father, Del Birkey passed away one year ago today.
My family and I miss him… my Mom does especially.
Here are some photos and captions in his memory.
One Year Later
It is hard to put into words what your dad meant to me. Del was not just a dear friend. He was a true pastor and mentor to me.
There was a season in my life when, even though I’d been a Christian and a pastor myself, I walked away from God. Del saw the early signs of my backsliding, even before I realized it was happening. He came to me and tried to stop it, confessing to me even his own worst failures in life and begging me to learn from his mistakes as he had. But I was too proud to listen.
When my rebellion became a fact, Del did not stop praying for me and pursuing me. As a gentle, understanding, but persistent friend he challenged me and loved me–even inviting me to your family’s gatherings, where I would be surrounded by love.
I think often about those days, how he and your mom opened their home and even gave me a place to stay awhile.
As I made my way back to faith, after years of darkness, Del was there in tears cheering me on and counseling me.
So many great things can be said about your dad. He was a scholar and thinker, an author and reformer. But what he was to me was one of a kind. A true shepherd and friend.
Granted, I know there was also a quirkiness about him that made him sometimes seem stubborn or even pushy. But I have come to see that side of him as a small price to pay for his tenacity in love, his passion for truth, and his zeal to see me and those he loved as right with God.
And he is much of the reason I am right with God today. So thanks be to God that it worked!
Thanks for posting those great pictures. I too miss him. I also miss his voice. Thankfully, he is one of those who ” by faith though dead still speaks” (Heb 4:4).
Thank you for keeping his memory alive.
Dave, I can attest to his prayers for you over the years when you especially needed them. Even now, he probably keeps reminding God to keep his eye on you! I know he would be pleased with your present ministry of leading great Bible studies for those who know nothing about something important called hermeneutics!