Monday, June 16th - Hero: Fathers

Fathers are so important.

Somewhere in the past couple of decades, our society has done a lot of harm to the image of our fathers, as well as downplayed their significance to the family dynamic.

Take any sitcom on TV in the past decade or so, and the father is generally a big ole doofus. Tim Taylor on Home Improvement, Ray Baronne on Everybody Loves Ray, Jim on According to Jim, etc, etc, etc. Compare these Dads to the ones on Leave it to Beaver, My Three Sons, Andy Griffith... The father figure went from being very wise, loving, a little bit goofy to being incompetent idiots who are lucky just to be able to understand english.

I guess I am really a lucky girl, because all the fathers in my life (Dad, Grandads, step-dad, uncles, brother) have been what I imagine real fathers to be about.

First and foremost, a Dad is there. Even when he's not with you, he's still there. His love is unconditional and sacrificial. He's smarter than you will ever be - in the subjects that really matter, anyway. He's patient, strong, and yes - he's goofy when he needs to be.

For a daughter, the very best gift a father can give is to be an example of how a man should love a woman. A father that treats his wife right, loves her with all his heart, and respects her. That is the best gift a daughter can ever get. It totally sets the tone of all her future relationships. Dads - you do this for your daughter, you will never have to worry about her making disastrous choices in her own love life. Because she will never settle for less.

Also, for his children, a Dad provides safety and security. When a Dad loves his children, no one can ever take away their security. Because you can have a lot taken away from you - your job, your home, your health - but as long as you can run to your Daddy and know that he will be there waiting for you with open arms, nothing else matters. It doesn't matter if you are 5 years old and it's a monster under your bed, or if you are 25 and it's a lost love. Dad's presence makes it all better.

Reading back over that, it would be very easy to substitute God for Dad. Could be why God presented Himself to us as a Father, why He assigned a gender to Himself when he surpasses that classification. He knew that there would be a need for a never-changing, always present Father. Truly, human fathers that get it right, get what being Daddy is all about - love, sacrifice, joy - those men are men after God's own heart.

I am so very blessed, because I have had many of these men in my life. I hope that I do a decent job of letting them know, while I have them. I lost my grandfathers, and I really regret not telling them more often how much they meant to me and how much I loved them. Although, I think true appreciation comes with wisdom, and wisdom comes with age. There is no other way to gain it. Which excites me - because if you get it even a little bit right - wisdom brings true joy and happiness.

The fathers in my life:
Rex Curtis - my daddy
Dennis Kincy - my step-daddy
Robert Vine Curtis - grandpa
Huel Gregory Smith - poppy
Dale Smith - uncle
Jason Curtis - brother
Bobby King - husband

My eternal Father, who for reasons I will never be able to thank enough for giving me my family, GOD.

Happy Father's Day,
Tracy