Today is Father’s Day so I’m writing about my father.  My father didn’t have it easy growing up.  From the stories I remember, they were not only poor but he came from a broken home.  I remember hearing about all the fights he was in because the kids picked on him so much because his parents were divorced; in that day divorce was looked upon with great stigma.  One specific memory is him telling us that the kids always had to wait until after the grown-ups were finished with their meal before they got to eat.  As a result from these and other memories, my Dad grew up a little rough and gruff, perhaps to say the least.  Then in 1945 he was almost killed by carbon monoxide at the plant where he worked because of a gas leak.  He was sick for many, many years.  Because he was so physically sick and not able to work for a while and worrying about his family, he then suffered from a nervous breakdown.  As a result from all this he didn’t always handle stress very well and would sometimes just pass out from whatever was upsetting him.  He was sick most of my growing-up years.  There are other interesting memories but I think this gives you a pretty good picture of my Father in his earlier years.  At this point in his life he didn’t know much about the Word of God so he didn’t know that healing was provided by our Heavenly Father.  I am happy to say that as the years went by he did get better and was able to work full-time again; and in 1964 he became a Methodist minister.

My Dad worked hard to provide a home for his family.  We always had plenty to ear, a warm house in the winter, and the summer too since there was no air-conditioning!  He always planted a big garden and my Mom did a lot of canning.  I NEVER ever remember being hungry just because there was not any food or not enough food.  Now I might have been a little hungry once in a while but that was only because I didn’t want to eat what was on the table!  Too bad I’m not more like that now!  Hah!  Oh, and as far as the difference between how he was raised and how he raised his family?  At every meal, and I mean every meal that I remember, whether it was just the family or a gathering, the children WERE ALWAYS fed first!  Our plates were filled and we were seated before any adult received their meal; for this my father is to be commended.

Another thing I remember about my Dad was when he said that he was going to build a workshop.  He was still very sick at the time but he would mix the cement and put it in the mold to form the block and then sit down and rest.  He did this again and again and again, one block at a time until he had enough blocks to mortar together for his workshop.  The thing I most remember is that “he said he was going to do it and he did it”.   I didn’t know it at the time of course, but this one example in my Dad’s life would carry over into mine to draw me closer to the God of the Universe.  This one example from my Dad doing what he said he was going to do actually help made it easier for me to believe the promises of God.  For this I am very grateful.

Now jump forward a few years to when I’m searching for some answers for my life.  I began to attend church and read the Bible, didn’t know I was suppose to when growing up!  Guess I missed that teaching somewhere.  I began to learn that God not only saves, but heals and wants to prosper and bless us abundantly.  I learned that, “In the beginning, God said….and it was so”.   I learned that God “sent His son to heal us and to deliver us from our destructions”.  (John 10:10; Psalm 107:20)  And this learning about my Heavenly Father continues to this day.

When we are children we do not always understand our parents.  Their ways and rules may seem restrictive or sometimes even harsh, but at the same time we might also view them as invincible, and able to mend the moon if it broke.   God created fathers to be like HIM; to love their children as God loves His children.  Our earthly father may fail from time to time; and be struggling to work through issues in his life, but if we look closely there is always some good we can find, and be appreciative of those good attributes.  We must always remember that our Heavenly Father IS perfect; He will never fail us, He will never leave us, and all His ways are perfect and He only has good things for us.   (Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Hebrews 13:5)

Dads, your examples do matter.  They are shaping the lives of your children.  It matters whether you are honest in your everyday life.  It matters how you treat others.  The tone in your voice makes a difference.  The example of getting to work on time; how you maintain the property of your home and show love to your family; and the list goes on.  It all matters, and it really matters whether you are active in church and personal prayer and Bible study, and that you teach and admonish your children in the Word of God and pray with them.

So I say “thank you Dad” for the good examples you were able to give to your children.  You were not perfect but did the best you could do for who you were at the time.   It is good for all of us to know, recognize, and remember that we can only do as good as we can at any given moment in our lives.  We can improve and the key is to continue reaching forward to the high calling of walking closer to God.  It is only when we walk close to our Heavenly Father, learning of Him, trusting in Him and believing His Word that we are able to do better.  As my daughter once said to me during a conversation about raising children, “I think each generation gets better at raising children”, and I think she is right.  When I think back at my Dad’s life, mine, my children and now their children, I have to say, Thank you God for helping us improve and become more like you.  Thank you Father God for being the perfect example to help fathers everywhere be who they ought to be.

Matthew 22:37 – Jesus said unto him, you shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.

Ephesians 6:2-4 – Honor you father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.  And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.