Happy Father's Day, Bruce

God has blessed me with an amazing father. Yes, he's my stepdad, but I love him like he has been my dad since I was born. Let me tell you about him...

Bruce is your average Army guy, except he was a Ranger. He has stories that he doesn't mind telling anyone, like times he's knocked people out when he was younger. He's constantly working on a project for me, my mom, or my grandmother. He can fix doors, boat docks, lay floors, paint, and build anything out of wood. Literally just about anything. Anyone who knows Bruce knows he's good at that, but what they don't always see is his heart.

He is one of the most godly men I have ever met in my life. He reads the Bible and lives it. The Gospel can be summed up into one word. Love. And that's what he does. He loves strangers and will help anyone in need. He loves God with all of his heart and mind. My mom comes in second, then his children, grandchildren, mother, and the rest of the family.

Sometimes, well, most of the time, when we're talking, Bruce will turn the conversation into a deep, theological conversation about Jesus. It can get annoying time to time when we were originally talking about something as simple as the weather, but I can only hope to marry a man that constantly thinks about God. If you think Bruce only talks about carpentry, you don't know him like I do.

Something I'll never forget is his letters he'd write to me during my senior year of high school. He'd leave early in the morning to go to Tuscaloosa and leave a letter in the driver's seat of my car. He'd write about how much he loved me and my mom, how he was proud of me, how me cared for us. He said he thanked God everyday for placing us in his life. He'd also write Bible verses to encourage me in anything I was going through. I got to the point where I'd have to read them after school to keep my makeup on that morning. Those letters will always mean so much to me.

I hope and pray I marry a man with the heart of my dad, Bruce. God knows I'm not going to date a man Bruce doesn't approve of.

So this is my way of saying Happy Father's Day, Bruce. I love you so much. God could not have blessed me more when he gave us you. I'm so proud to call you my dad.

And Happy Father's Day to all of the other father figures I have been blessed with. There's too many to name, and I wouldn't want to leave anyone out. I love you all.

Happy Father's Day, everybody.