Depth of a father’s love shows in the big and small moments of life

April Steber, left, and her sister Amy Miskuf pose for a photo with their father, Deacon David Reising. (Submitted photo)

(Editor’s note: The Criterion invited our readers to share their stories about how their father’s influence has shaped their life and their faith. Here are some of their stories. One in an occasional series.)
 

By John Shaughnessy

The scenes and the stories about her father come rushing back to Mary Schott, capturing an image of a man who was bigger than life in some ways and faithful in the small, everyday parts, too.

She can still picture him coming home bone-tired after being on his feet for 10 hours from his work as a butcher in a small grocery store on the west side of Indianapolis—“bringing home the bacon literally,” she says.

She can still see him walking upstairs to an empty bedroom at Christmas time, lugging the wrapping paper, the Scotch tape and the gift tags that he used to wrap the presents he bought for her and her six brothers.

And she still marvels at the unforgettable scene involving her dad during one of the two-week camping adventures that their family of nine shared together each summer.

“I recall especially our trip to Washington state to again see and enjoy a meal at the Seattle Space Needle,” says Schott, a member of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Beech Grove.

“We had visited there at the World’s Fair some years before, and we generally assumed it would be the same. We wore our camping clothes and traipsed into that restaurant, only to be met by a shimmery and sequined-dressed lady with a maître d’ by her side who was in a tuxedo.

“They tried to turn us away. My dad was having none of that. He fought for us and taught me a lesson. He hollered, ‘We ate here when it was the World’s Fair! We didn’t travel 2,000 miles to be turned away! And my money’s as good as anyone else’s!’ They seated us and we dined nicely.”

Decades later, Schott still admires her father for that moment.

“Rich or poor, we were as good as anybody else, no more and no less,” she says. “I think in our culture we are easily confused about that.”

As Schott looks back on those years, she has fond members of her parents—Theodore and Irene Schott—working together.

She also notes that her father was harsh at times. And she wonders how her mom and dad did what they did for their seven children even as they struggled financially.

Her mother died in 1975 at the age of 58. Her dad died 18 years later at 77.

Schott’s thoughts turned to him again as another Father’s Day neared.

“He lived his faith by going to work every day, taking us to church and on vacations and being crazy about his grandkids.

“His soul was in his fatherhood. It was his proudest accomplishment. He took it seriously and delivered. He was ‘faithful to his station in life,’ as the Church once taught. He was faithful in the smallness of ordinary life. I hope he’s enjoying the bigness of everlasting life.”

The depth of a father’s love

While a father’s influence often comes from the example he sets for his children, his love usually becomes known to them in the support he gives, especially in times of trouble.

April Steber has been blessed by both of these gifts from her father, Deacon David Reising, who ministers at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Bedford and St. Mary Parish in Mitchell.

“My dad has been a constant light in my life,” Steber says. “I grew up in a traditional home in the 1980s, where my dad worked full time and my mom stayed home with my sister Amy and me. Dad always kept God at the center of our family life. As we rode together in our baby blue minivan, he would often say, ‘Let’s pray the rosary.’ I would roll my eyes because I was too busy listening to my Walkman.”

Still, her reluctance turned into an embrace through the years.

“Each evening, Amy and I would climb into my parents’ waterbed, and together we would pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. Then each of us would offer a special prayer and finish with the Act of Contrition.”

Sharing that last prayer together has continued to influence Steber in her adult life, making her feel comfortable in confessing her sins to a priest.

Sharing a special family night each week has also left an impact on her.

“It made us feel loved and reminded us that time together mattered,” says Steber, a member of St. Vincent de Paul Parish.

That love was especially evident to her in tough times.

“As a young adult, I made some unwise decisions,” she recalls. “Dad did not belittle me or say, ‘You made your bed; now you have to lie in it.’ Instead, he loved and supported me. I know not everyone has had a father like mine, and for some, trusting God the Father can be more difficult. My dad planted deep roots of faith in me. He has always been compassionate and loving, not only to me but to everyone he meets.

“He continues to share that same fatherly love with others. I am grateful for my dad and for the fruit his example continues to bear.” †