When it comes to prayer, the very first words Jesus taught us to use in approaching God is “Our Father.” He is actually asking us to call His Father, Our Father! What welcome we are given as members of the heavenly family! He assures us of our divine relationship with God. We do not pray to a dumb idol, a mysterious god, or even an unimpressionable Deity. We pray to a paternal Deity. We pray … Continue reading →
With the October 21, 2020 passing of my mother, I am beginning to feel what I’ve heard expressed so many times by adult children following the death of their last living parent. I am feeling the sentiment expressed by surviving children who say, “I feel like an orphan.” For me, it’s been over six-weeks of “I feel like an orphan” but it is a very familiar feeling because as an adoptee I have known that … Continue reading →
My mother passed away on October 21, 2020 after a long battle with Alzheimer/Dementia. I wrote about my mother and the smile I miss at my previous blog post titled Irene H. Durkac. Her Catholic funeral mass was conducted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 in Rossford, Ohio and the funeral home’s obituary was published a few days prior to that service. I’m writing this post because the mother I knew and wanted to be known … Continue reading →
My younger sister and I sat in the living room of our childhood home where my mother laid in her hospice bed. As we talked quietly, trying not to disturb our mother’s rest, I could see my mom open her eyes and fix her gaze toward me with a slight smile. I smiled back and continued the conversation with my sister, not really sure if my mother knew it was me or if her Alzheimer/Dementia … Continue reading →
My Dad, Louis S. Durkac, died this morning, September 4, 2019. He was 91 years old and the adopted father of 5 adopted children, and he himself was adopted. He died just 2 days shy of his 67th wedding anniversary with my Mom, Irene, whom he leaves behind in a fight against dementia. I am the middle child of the 5 Durkac’s and often accused of being the odd guy out or the black sheep … Continue reading →
In 1923, my grandmother, Mary, was asked to be the maid-of-honor for her best friend’s wedding. As the wedding approached in her hometown near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mary wondered what the best man might be like. She had heard that Lou was also a recent immigrant from Czechoslovakia and also an available bachelor, but he wouldn’t be arriving until just before the wedding began. During the wedding, Lou, the best man, took a liking for Mary … Continue reading →
We share the same mom, at birth anyway, but her influence was just as intentional upon my life as with yours. You experienced her influence through the awesome privilege of knowing her, loving her, holding her, building a bond with her, while I have only had gratitude for her. That gratitude is all I carried with me for 54 years before that transformed into information, people, and families. For myself, like all children given up … Continue reading →
Pastor Steve Durkac’s Personal Testimony… I grew up as one of five adopted children and it was my story of adoption that most influenced my faith in Jesus as my personal Savior and here is how… As a teenager in the cold snowy, over-cast, small Northeast Ohio town of Rossford, during the heavy metal punk-rock era of the late 70’s, my life took a detour from what should have been a typical mid-America working class home … Continue reading →
When I left my pastorate with a church an Adventist church in Aiken, South Carolina in the 90’s, I was given a small gift of a marble and gold metal sailboat that read “A man that walks with God always gets to his destination.” It sat in my study on a shelf, from move to move, about 10 inches long and about 8 inches high. I’ve lost track of it in one of my last … Continue reading →
Yesterday, May 23, 2017 would have been my birth mother’s 79th birthday, had she not died in 1990. I was thinking earlier today that when I get to heaven I will have two mothers – the mother that adopted me and the mother that birthed me. Interestingly, the mom who raised me is named Irene and the mom who birthed me has the middle name of Irene. The mom who raised me had a brain tumor removed … Continue reading →
I finally got my baby feet. What I mean is, I just received the card stock paper where the nurses at St. John’s Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota inked my feet, shortly after being born on October 1, 1962 and made an impression of my baby feet with ink. As I looked at the paper with the impression of my new born feet, the thought occurred to me that after 52 years, I now posses something … Continue reading →
I am an adoptee, and you can read my personal testimony to learn how that impacted my conversion and sustaining faith in Jesus Christ and His word. Here I wish to share 3 Scripture verses that I believe speak to the real significance of every individual who may be wrestling with their identity because of being an adopted child. Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NIV) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , … Continue reading →