Father’s Day Without My Father

Augustine wrote in his book ‘Confessions’: “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in You.”

In recent years the Donut Man would paraphrase this quote by saying, “Life without Jesus is like a donut, ‘cause there’s a hole in the middle of your heart.”

My earliest memories of my father were of a restless, dissatisfied man.

He sensed that something was missing at the core of his life. He spent his early years searching for that missing piece. He investigated eastern religions, modern philosophies, even the occult – nothing filled the hole. He couldn’t place his fingers on that crazy missing part.

Then a friend invited my Dad and Mom to a spiritual retreat called the Cursillo. Even as a child, I could see that this weekend was the beginning of a change in my father. He met other friends during this season who explained to him that it was not enough just to be religious. To fill the hole in the center of your being, you must have a relationship with God by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Around this same time, his friend, Charles Kennedy, invited Dad to hear a Spirit-filled priest talk about the Holy Spirit. At the end of his message, the priest asked if anyone would like to come forward to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Dad asked his friend, Charles, what he thought. Mr. Kennedy replied, “If you’re asking God for something He promises you in the Bible, I don’t think it can be anything but good.”

Dad went forward and the minister prayed for him to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Two days later, as my father sat in the parking lot of a department store waiting for my Mom to finish shopping, the Holy Spirit came upon him with His power. Again, Dad went to a new level in his walk with God.

From that time forward, the Holy Spirit gave him wisdom like he never had before. He gave my father an insatiable hunger to know God and to know His Word. From then on, Dad voraciously studied the Bible. From that day forward, he and Mom became prayer warriors, not only for our family, but for thousands of other people.

The Holy Spirit gave Dad a boldness to tell others about the peace and joy that Jesus brought to his life. From then on, my father never knew a stranger. Dad led thousands of people – from the homeless on the street, to politicians and business people, in a prayer for salvation or for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Since his recent passing, my family has been overwhelmed with stories of people who were touched and their lives positively changed because Dad led them to Jesus or to the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

As he shared with thousands in his lifetime – and with all of us – a relationship with Jesus and a daily walk with the Holy Spirit makes all the difference in this life.

Just as Augustine declared, “You yourself have made us for Yourself…” Our purpose can only be fulfilled by fulfilling God’s purpose for us. Dad not only sought to discover this purpose of God in his spiritual life, but in his marriage, his family, his art, and his career. And ultimately, he surrendered to the purpose of God in all his life.

And so my father grew into a place of peacefulness and a measure of contentment. But ultimately there was still a degree of restlessness in him that we all observed. I believe it was because he knew that while he had tasted of the kingdom of God, this world was not his home.

C.S. Lewis declared: “All our modern philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good man is to be found on this earth. And yet it is a remarkable thing that such philosophies of Progress or Creative Evolution themselves bear reluctant witness to the truth that our real goal is elsewhere.”

Deep inside, we all comprehend that true peace – true contentment – is beyond this world. My father knew that this elsewhere, this higher power, this peace, this contentment could only be found through Jesus.

On May 11, 2020, Clemens C. Buseck, Grandpa, Dad finally reached that goal when he crossed the threshold of eternity into the arms of the Savior he had pursued with a passion all his life. His restless heart had finally found rest.

Do you want to know God like my father did? Click here to learn how.