With Father’s Day coming up,
devotionals this week will be all about dads.
Included are some personal accounts from some of our staff. Their thoughts are honest reflections on fatherhood
with the struggles, strengths and weaknesses of real-life dads. Enjoy.
Submitted
by Keith Warren
“He will restore
the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to
their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:6 NASB
I remember,
almost like it was yesterday, the day my dad grew up. He might not remember it the way I do, but it
was a very real transformation.
You see, my
parents were very young when I was born.
My mom and dad were married on September 30, mom turned sixteen on
November 6, and I was born December 17. The
entire world changed for them in just sixty-eight short days. Of course, as a baby I didn’t notice their
youthfulness. In fact, they were
probably great parents. They both had
the support of their parents of which I’m sure I am a beneficiary. The parts I do remember, as I got older were
not always that good. They would argue,
yell and scream at each other, sometimes one of them would leave, but they
always came back. My dad had a temper. I think it had more to do with being a
frustrated young man than being angry, because he is not an angry man
today. But I remember having to explain
to friends that would come over how we got holes in our walls. I would lie and say that I hit a ball, or
that my brother did it with a hammer.
The truth was, it was my dad taking out his frustration/anger on our
drywall and doors.
I can’t
really say what happened with my dad, other than to say that I watched him grow
up. It happened when I was about twelve. Because he worked in the oil business, his
job would sometimes come and go with the price of oil. During one of those dips, he was laid-off
from work, and mom had taken a job with JCPenney. For the first time in our lives, mom was the
breadwinner and dad was hanging around the house. Whatever caused the switch to go off, it was
something to see. Almost overnight my
dad became Mr. Mom. He was cleaning
house, cooking for us, taking me to practice and picking me up from my
games. His demeanor changed, and I saw
how he was serving my mom by doing what she couldn’t do because she was
working. It was like a calm, sweet
breeze had begun to blow over our house.
I don’t mean to imply that life was bad before this moment, because it
wasn’t. I never doubted that my dad
loved me. But I did notice when he went
from acting like a trapped teenager, to being a man who loved (and served) his
family.
In some
ways, this was a life-changing moment for me, because this is the version of
dad that I was shaped by as a young adult.
My adolescence was softened by a man who had found his peace with the
family that God had given him. It was
not a storybook tale for sure, but it was his storybook tale, and the fact that
he embraced it is what mattered most to my brother and me.
I learned
from watching my dad mature, that maturity was better than immaturity, so in
many ways I simply skipped that as a teenager.
I learned that everyone can do something to make any situation better. Dad didn’t like being out of work, but he
didn’t sit around and complain about it either.
He picked up the broom and the vacuum and learned how to do laundry,
because that is what he needed to do at that moment. I also learned what a blessing it is when a
father serves his family out of love, not duty.
Those were some of the happiest days of my childhood.
My goal as a
dad has been to make every day that kind of day for my family. I don’t get it right every time, and I’m
quick to admit my failures, but that is the goal. With God’s grace, and the Spirit to guide me,
I pray that my girls learn some of these same lessons from me.
Scripture to Claim:
“But
by the grace of God, I am what I am.” 1
Corinthians 15:10a
