#TruthSeries: In God's Eyes

My dad was ugly, and i knew it. By the time i was ten, I was totally ashamed of my father. My friends called him names: Quasimodo, hunchback, monster, little Frankenstein, the crooked little man. At first it hurt when they called him those things, but soon i agreed with them.

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My father was born with parastremmatic dwarfism. The disease made him stop growing when he was about thirteen and caused his body to twist into a grotesque shape. When he was my age, pictures show him as a little short but good-looking. When he married my mother at nineteen, he still looked normal. He walked with a slight limp but could do just about anything. He was even a great dancer.

Soon after my birth, another genetic disorder took over, and his left foot started turning out, almost backward. His head and neck shifted to the right; his neck became rigid and he looked over his left shoulder a bit. His right arm curled in and up, and his index finger almost touched his elbow. His spine warped to look something like a roller coaster, causing his torso to lie sideways
instead of straight up and down like that of a normal person. His walk became slow, awkward, and deliberate. He almost had to drag his left foot as he used his deformed right arm to balance his gait.

I hated to be seen with him. Everyone stared ans seemed to pity me. I felt he must have done something really bad to have God hate him enough to deform his body.

By the time i was seventeen, i blamed all of my problems on my father. I didn't have the right boyfriends because of him. I didn't drive the right car because of him. I wasn't pretty enough because of him. I didn't have the right jobs because of him. I wasn't happy because of him. I knew if my father had been good-looking like Jane's father, or successful like paul's father, or worldly like Terry's father, I would be perfect.

The night of my senior prom, father had to place more nails in my coffin - he had volunteered to chaperone at the dance. My heart sank when he told me. I stormed to my room, slammed the door, threw myself on the bed, and cried.

"Three more weeks and i'll be out of here!" I screamed into my pillow. "Three more weeks i'll be at college! God, please make my father go away and leave me alone. Just make him disappear so i can have a good time at the dance"

I got dressed, my date picked me up, and we went to the prom. Father followed in his car. When we arrived, father vanished into the pink chiffon draped hanging in the auditorium . I thanked God that he heard my Prayer, Atleast now i could have some fun.

Midway through the dance, father came out from behind the drapes and started dancing with my friends. One by one, he took their hands and led them to the dance floor. He clumsily moved them in circles and the band played. Now i tried to vanish into the drapes.

After my friend Jane danced with him, she headed my way.

oh no!  I thought. she's going to tell me he stomped on her foot or something.

"Grace." she called, "You have the greatest father" She smiled at me and grabbed my shoulders. "Your father's just the best. He's funny, kind, and always finds the time to be where you need him. i wish my father was more like that"
For one of the first times in my life, i couldn't talk. "What do you mean?" i asked her.
Jane looked at me strangely "What do you mean? Your father's wonderful. i remember when we were kids and i'd sleep over at your house. he's always come into your room and read us a book. i'm not sure my father can read" She sighed and smiled. "Thanks for sharing him"

...........To be continued

Read the concluding part here