“ I H AV E L E A R N E D T H E S EC R E T O F C O N T E N T M E N T I N E V E R Y S I T U AT I O N .” PAU L , P H I L I P P I A N S 4:12 “ M Y FAT H E R A LWAY S K N O W S W H AT I S B E S T.”
D
PE T ER WA L L G U N T H ER
uring my dad’s home stretch to heaven, I had memorable dialogues with him about his life journey. He was born in southern Russia during the turbulent 1930’s, grew up under the dictatorial rule of Stalin, experienced the horrors of WWII, saw his father arrested and eventually imprisoned in a Siberian work camp, helped his mother and siblings flee from communist persecution across the vast wasteland of post-war Europe, and settled on a rural Manitoba homestead, enduring the harsh realities of a prairie winter. He owned nothing other than what he was wearing at the time. He lost a sister on the exodus. Such experiences left many of his generation with deep psychological scars, a spirit of bitterness, and despair. Dad, however, spoke of being content as he started a new life in Canada – “We didn’t have much,” he’d say, “but we had each other, and the Lord.” His new life in Canada included back-breaking work, living with the bare necessities, raising six children, moving the family across Canada to start a new business, and being the recipient of both goodwill and malice. In the latter part of his life, he lost health, mobility, clarity of thought, parents, siblings, close friends, a son, and his wife. What is remarkable to me is although each of these came with initial pangs of grief and pain, it was not long before he began expressing his sense of contentment with life. Let me be clear, my dad had struggles, made mistakes, had worries, and battled moments of anxiety. However, he would always return to a sense of what I call a contentment equilibrium, anchored to Christ. “My life is not about me, but about Him whom I serve. Christ is first,” was his mantra.
14
APRIL 2021
M B H E R A L D.C O M
