By Sarah Sanchez
Moving mountains is a popular phrase that means you can do the impossible. It even talks about moving mountains in the Bible in verse Matt 17:20: “…Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Growing up, my dad told us that we can move mountains. He told us that we could be anything we desired if we set our mind to it. My dad taught us about life and lessons that we can’t learn from a textbook. He showed us how to love, how to laugh, and how to dream.
My dad is one of the reasons why I know what love is. He showed me unconditional love and support no matter what I did (even if I did things wrong). He showed me that marriages can still survive after 30 years, where my parents have overcame life obstacles, different stages of life, career changes, and even owning a business together. He also showed me what to look for (and what not to look for) in a husband.
When I was younger, I used to imagine my future husband taking care of me the way my dad did. I was daddy’s girl and I relied so much on my dad that I was afraid I would never be able to find that same love and support from any other man. But then, my dad taught me that I didn’t need to rely on anyone else. He taught me that I was independent and I could take care of myself if I needed to. That lesson opened by eyes to stop looking for the security in a man and to stop looking for someone to take care of me, but to instead, look for the love. No, not the same love that my dad gave me because he was the only one who can love me as a father. But instead, I looked for the love of a husband, a companion, and a best friend. Then, I ended up finding just that in a man that would end up being my husband.
You see, my dad is a man that I’ve always looked up to. He has always provided for our family and wanted nothing but the best for us. And he didn’t just tell us that we could move mountains, but he showed us too. When I was six years old, my parents packed up our things and moved us all to Walnut, where they would soon start their own company. My dad had a dream to write so he started this very newspaper from the ground up, without a journalism degree or several years of experience, like many think they need today. He had a dream to be a writer, to be a business owner, to raise his family in a great community, and to help others; and that’s exactly what he did. He showed us that we could do anything that we set our mind to do and that we can succeed at anything in our life. But most importantly, he showed us that dreams do come true.
Father’s Day is a day to honor our dads, our grandpas, or people who have been like a father in our lives. This Father’s Day, I would like to honor a man that many of you may even know, a man who started this newspaper from scratch, a man who taught us everything when he had nothing, a man who showed us how to love, how to dream and how do the impossible. This Father’s Day I would like to honor my dad: the man who can move mountains.