I’ve been blessed to have been raised by a strong, good dad. Dad was a godly, hardworking, reliable, loving, trustworthy good man. He and Mom set a solid Christian example and raised us kids to be responsible, pay our bills on time, be kind, have confidence in ourselves, and be independent and hardworking. All four of us went on to marry spouses (all of us have celebrated at least 30 years of marriage) that reflect those values, and especially Christian values.
My father-in-law was a strong, good dad as well. He was hardworking and reliable, and when he said he’d do something, it was as good as done. In the early years, in addition to farming, he worked another job to help ends meet: hoisting full, heavy, cans of milk from neighboring farms to his milk truck and then delivering them without fail to the factory, about 4 miles away from the home farm. When the snow drifts were deep in the winter, he’d have to haul those cans down the driveway out to his truck parked on the road because he couldn’t drive into a farmer’s yard.
When he “retired” from farming, he’d still come up and drive tractor or help out in whatever way he could. If it stormed in the early morning hours when he knew his son and I were in the barn doing chores, he’d come up and sit with our kids in case they woke up, afraid of the thunder. I never asked him to do it; he’d always just show up. It would warm my heart.
He taught our daughter how to play cards and they’d sit and play, something he was too busy to do with his own kids when he was on the farm. Occasionally, he’d bring all three of our kids and his other grandchildren home from piano lessons or swimming lessons or a sporting practice and once in a while would stop and buy them an ice cream cone as a treat for a special occasion. Those special occasions wouldn’t have to be grand, it was just an excuse to enjoy some time together with his younger grandkids.
Another strong, good dad is my husband. During the years of child rearing, he was always there for the kids, and attended every single thing they were involved in, even though it pained him something fierce to sit through piano recitals. He did it, and the kids appreciated it to see both our smiling, encouraging faces in the audience.
My husband is well-respected by our now-adult children. We have a baseball displayed in our rec room that our son signed when he was playing high school ball. He wrote it out in his signature scrawl, “To Dad: You taught me everything I know,” and then presented it to my husband.
The kids know their dad wants the very best for them and has, through the years, sacrificed much for them. He loves them with a fierce, protective, nurturing love, and they know that he will be in their corner for as long as he has breath in his body, doing what he can or stepping back to let them learn it on their own. He’s taught them to be independent, to work hard, to do the right thing always, and has led by example in his walk with his Heavenly Father.
I’ve been blessed to have been a part of these three wonderful dads’ lives, and especially am grateful for sharing life with my husband. We’ve gone through everything together, raising our family and working side by side on our farm. We worship the Lord together, grateful for every challenge (for they keep us on our knees) and success (for they bring a grateful heart) the years produce.
As much as these three strong, good dads have loved and nurtured their families, our Heavenly Father loves us more profoundly, more fiercely, more protectively than any human father or husband ever could. He is divine; we are merely human. His love is unconditional, always there, never wavering or changing. Nothing, not one single thing, can separate us from His magnificent, all-encompassing love.
Happy Father’s Day to all the good, strong dads that love their families, try hard to provide for them, teach and encourage them and just be there for them. God bless you all!
(“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39)
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