Hey Dad,
First off, I just wanna day that I love you very much!! I have had the greatest honor and pleasure of being your son for the entire 21 years of my life!! I just want you to know, no matter what you are feeling or thinking, you have had the greatest impact on me that a broken human is possible of bestowing on another broken human.
This year I want to exhort you in three areas where you have helped and grown me...
The first is in my mission. Dad you have helped me so much this year with the processing of my mission. Both in what it should like like, and also in how I am supposed to act in my mission. I have talked to you about things this year that have really helped me to hone and focus on what I need to do for the next year. You have also helped me to understand where I may be falling short. This includes some of the fears I have such as the fear of failing people or of being rejected. I really look forward to the continued push to fight on mission.
The second is in my struggles. This year was a hard struggle for me and my thought life. You really helped me to get through that. You are there for me when I struggled, and you were there to pick me up when I fell. I love you, and I am extremely grateful for your example of the unconditional love that God has for us. I always had a hard time bringing that truth from my head into my heart, but your example has really helped to fulfill that process.
That leads me into my third point. This year I learned a lot from you about how to be a good friend. You helped me where I needed help, and where I was struggling. You affirmed me in some of my frustrations, but you also challenged and tempered some of my other ones. I wanted to highlight that one. A good friend will not only listen to what a person is going through, but they ask questions to both affirm right actions and to correct wrong actions. I think this is super important. We have had many conversations about how true friends grow and push each other in significant ways. You have really helped me grow this year, and I am extremely grateful!!
The simple point is that I love you dad!!
I cannot wait to continue to live life with you both as a friend and a mentor.
-Judah