Today in Spain we celebrate Fathers’ Day, it coincides with the feast of Saint Joseph. I leave you here with a poem that one of my sons wrote for the first anniversary of the death of my husband, on March 6th. It has 56 stanzas: one for every year of life that he lived.
Within a large family
You had the luck of being born
Julita and Pablo as parents
A marriage of faith
Baptized Jose Maria
Everyone knew you as Chema
“Good ‘ol Chema,” as everyone said
Goodness was your virtue
As a young man, a great athlete
You played basketball with your brothers
You were champion in the triple jump
Everyone knew you were born with it
But when God calls, he asks for something
And you were called to something great
God asked a lot from you
And from pain, you could not separate
First in your knees
They placed several nails
And all types of sports
You had to put aside
Jesus after the nails
Died for all of us
You lived with them
It was your cross, your Calvary
After that came the accident
Your back was damaged for life
Continuous pains and operations
God still asked you for more
You suffered a depression
Had to stay in bed for a several months
It’s not easy to leave sports
I understand perfectly well
Afterward, your father passed away
Someone I was never able to meet
Beloved Grandpa Pablo
In Heaven, I will see you
For you, he was a role model
You even wanted to look like him
What happened was very difficult
And once again you fell down
But when God sends you a test
He sends the strength to overcome it
You overcame it all
And returned to your daily routine
Your life is summarized by three:
God, family, and friends
The three pillars of your life
They were always with you
God was always the first
He was the one you went to
In both the joy and in the pain
You knew where they both came from
For your mother and younger siblings
You were responsible for taking care
Working and earning money
On you, they relied for their bread
Friends you had many
For that, you had a gift
You knew how to care for them
You put all your heart into it
You wanted to start a family
But you didn’t find a wife
What has God prepared?
You prayed relentlessly for her
“That she might be good and pious
That she loves You as much or more than me
That she is open to life
And that she loves me as I am”
You met her in Valencia
She came from a big family
It was love at first sight
Her name was Rosa
You told you had a girlfriend
They asked you who was the lucky one
You soon disappointed them
When you said she was from Catalonia
You looked for excuses to convince them
But you couldn’t find any
They finally changed their mind
When you introduced her to them
Your day had come,
The 15th of July,
The day of “Yes, I do”
When two became one
You both promised forever
In sickness and in health
In the good times and in the bad
You formed a single unit
Rosa became your way to Heaven
You couldn’t without her
Well, a marriage is a union
They go up together or wherever they prefer
Such was your union
That one look was enough
To ask for a favor,
Ask for forgiveness or thanks
Your love was so great
That the fruits could not wait
And after only nine months
Carmina arrived in your home
She was very sick
Her heart wouldn’t respond
But she could overcome this
It was through the strength of prayer
Then came Javi and Montsita
Also with heart problems
It was very difficult to bury two of your children
To offer them up to the Lord
“Do not have more children”
The doctors and nurses repeated
Including friends and relatives
God put you both to the test
Married young and with dreams
With a desire to spread love
To bring love to this world
What would the Lord want?
“But in my bed nobody can interrupt
Neither the minister nor the mother-in-law
How many children to bring into the world
An intimate decision that was solely ours”
You did not place limits on God
And the children began to arrive
Eighteen in Nineteen years
For your faith you both were blessed
There were days when you arrived late
Tired after work
Even so, you told us a story
Nobody could tell you were exhausted
You did not limit yourself to reading one book
You invented a story right there on the spot
You even acted them out in the room
What great stories you told us
You did not settle with your family
You wanted to help others
You traveled around the whole world
Teaching others your work
You never gave lectures
Only taught others by your example
With your highly contagious smile
You showed what you held deep inside
You advised many who were looking
You never said no to anyone who asked
And all of this, without expecting anything in return
Suddenly you became their guide
And more trials were to come
Lolita was sick, Carmi went to Heaven
What did God want from us?
It’s difficult to escape this pain
Your secret was the Tabernacle
There you regained much of your strength
You went to Mass daily
That’s how you started your day
You taught us to pray for everyone
I still remember the prayers
And I continue to pray them daily
They’ve brought me many blessings
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this house
It’s the strength of the Rosary prayed as a family
The weapon that can do all
The weapon that cures all
Cancer of the liver
It was your final test
Your last battle
In this life, here on earth
God first takes the best
And you were very prepared
You had already done all your homework
And above all, you had loved
Those days in the hospital
We all went to support you
You could not leave us
We needed our father
Many people prayed for you
The messages didn’t stop coming
Nobody believed it
Please, hold on!
Including the Pope from Rome
He sent you his blessing
He prayed for you in the Mass
He pleaded for your healing
God’s plans were different
And the 6th of March arrived
In the morning, at eight o’clock
You were taken into His arms
I imagine you entering Heaven
The ovation you must have received
Everyone on their feet, cheering
Dad, you deserved it
In your 56 years
You did a lot of good
You brought many closer to God
You helped many to be reborn
Your coffin was pushed by all
Sons and daughters on each side
It was our last goodbye
It was your last gift
The Gothic Basilica
It gave us a glimpse of Heaven
With the dark tone of the clothes
We remembered that you were no longer here
4,000 people came to say farewell
In Our Lady of the Sea
Crying and celebrating
You were already in the eternal home
It’s been one year since you left
It is painful just thinking about it
And even if I wait, write, or pray
I don’t see you, I can’t kiss you nor hug you
Uncle Miguel, thank you so much
Your book was published, it was a gift
When I read those pages
You can’t imagine how much I cried
Human vision, I’m made of flesh
If I did not cry, I would not be
But I want to be, without tears
To only think, and give you one more hug
Many times I thanked you
But with words, not with works
For this, I write you these letters
For this, I dedicate this poem
Thank you for everything
Thank you for so much
I have no doubt
Dad, you are a saint.
March 6th, 2018
This post was originally published on comoserfelizconunodostreshijos.com on March 19th, 2018.
Rosa, What's Your Secret? 
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