While Father’s Day was a few weeks ago, I’ve felt an urgency to write about Fathers.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope you have/had a wonderful father. I hope he showed love, guidance, acceptance, provision, fun and even pointed you towards Jesus. I hope he was truly present throughout your life.
Mine fell short of pretty much all of these things. He got too caught up in the world- and money and power became his focus. He ultimately never achieved either. He also chose to separate himself from our family. So sad, yet all too common.
Most any male can become a biological father. It makes a real man to become a dad.
No man (or any human) is perfect. Yet there are numerous great dads out there. Even if they don’t encompass all the qualities I listed, in some way they have a connection and show love to their child.
I’m not a father- obviously. But as a mom, parenting has got to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You too? It’s because people are messy. They aren’t textbook situations all the time. You figure one thing out and things change. What worked before suddenly doesn’t work anymore. You suddenly realize you are trying to rationalize with a 3 year old. Or a 13 year old.
I truly believe the main breakdowns in our society stem from broken families. Mainly families where the father is not present or involved.
Men- if you are a father, be a DAD. One who loves, guides, accepts, provides, knows how to have fun, and points your kids towards Jesus and our heavenly Father. The harm you will do by being absent can run deep and span decades. While I personally have my life somewhat together, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t scars.
There are also a ton of “stand in” dads out there. May I stand up and applaud you. You are making more of a difference than you know. I am so darn grateful for the “stand in” dads in my life.
I pray for the family unit. I pray for all you fathers out there. I pray that even though it’s the hardest thing, you can be up to the challenge if you want to be. I pray that you’ll be a DAD.
Embrace Life
