Tribute to My Parents
William and Joan Cunningham
My parents are William and Joan Cunningham.? My father died in July of 2014, God rest his soul.?
The Bible says to honor our parents so that our lives may be long (Exodus 20:12). Well, this page is one way that I honor my parents. There is nothing like having good parents. Then there are those children who are blessed with great parents. I am one of those “extra” blessed people. There is one thing that my parents have proven since I was a small child. They are supportive of their children. They were always there when we had school meetings or meet the teacher night. They supported my brothers and I in the things that we wanted to do. I?ll never forget the time when I took after-school typing classes while in the 7th grade. Well, my parents purchased me a really nice typewriter so that I can continue practicing my typing and/or have the means to type after the classes were complete. It paid off. I got an award in high school for being able to type 50+ words a minute. Typing has also come in very handy since I work on computers all of the time.
My parents are to this day “always there.” They remain faithful and dependable. Yes, I love my parents and I think I have the greatest parents in the whole world. They remain supportive and concerned about me as well as my wife. They don?t take a look from afar, they get involved with my life though not intruding on it.
What makes a good parent? I must say that God has blessed me, as well as my brothers, with a great model. I didn?t turn out so bad so I believe that there is much to be learned from how they raised my brothers and I. There was a mixture of discipline, liberty, and support. They encouraged us to go to school, learn, and pursue our dreams. I went to college but never did my parents force me to. They just supported me in whatever I did. I never felt as though I was on my own but I did have a sense of responsibility while in college.
One thing that was very evident about my parents is that they trusted my brothers and I. Trust was a key ingredient in raising us. I will never forget an incident when my fathers trust came through like the sun. I just knew there was no way that we could prove that we didn’t do “it” at this particular situation. However, he asked us, we (my brother Mike and I) said that we didn’t “do it” and he left it at that. It was found out later that we in fact didn’t do it. I believe that many parents would not have trusted the words of their children. However, I must realize that trust is earned. I strove to make my parents proud because they trusted me.
To this day I believe I have a wonderful relationship with my parents. I don’t feel as though I have grown old enough to depart from them. They will always be mom and dad. I pray that I will have an opportunity to bless them in a tremendous way. My objective is to see to it that they never have to worry about what they will do when the become senior citizens and can’t get around like they used to. My parents will not have to worry about anything if I can help it.
I thank God for the greatest parents in the whole world. I pray that my wife and I can be as good parents to our son as my parents have been to me. Amen.