Hoping that Father’s Day was a special day of celebration for your family. To the men that have influenced our lives as fathers, grandfathers, father in laws, husbands, uncles and special friends, we offer our thanks for your faithfulness, leadership, encouragement and devotion. It is indeed a privilege to be loved by godly men who honor and serve their families. I am so grateful for the special men in my life who raised me up and showed me the way to go. Thank you!
+++
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 – ESV
Eleventh grade English was a bear for me. My teacher “brought smoke” as my Daddy would say. She was an exceptional teacher who intended for her students to learn to write. If she noted promise in a student’s writing skills, she pushed even harder, determined to make the student excel. I was among the students who received that extra prodding.
When a paper was assigned, I invariably procrastinated and perseverated over what to write. I would fret about it with my mother who would respond, “Well, you’re gonna have to ask your Daddy.”
The problem was that my father was working evening shift. This was the year after Dad left the Army and he was teaching night school in the GED program at the local community college. Not arriving home until nearly midnight, I’m sure the last thing he wanted to do was write a high school paper. He would come in the house, weary from a long shift, and find the note. “Dad, please wake me up. Got a problem with a paper.”
Oh, how many nights did we sit in the den talking about classic literature? To his credit, Dad never fussed or complained. He would simply begin with, “OK, what’cha got?”
Dad never wrote the paper for me, only asked me questions to consider. We debated my ideas and he would help me fine tune the key points. He would edit a few sentences and then tell me, “OK. You got it. You can do this.” He would give me a little pat on the shoulder and I knew he meant it.
Because my father believed in my abilities, I started believing in myself. I grew more confident in my ideas and perseverated less. Though admittedly, Dad still had to coach me quite a bit through Senior English, I finally learned to write.
During all those discussions in the den, I would never have imagined that I would eventually write nursing journal articles or publish books. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would pursue creative writing in my retirement years. Dad didn’t know these things either. He just knew the value of good writing skills, and how those skills would serve me in whatever career I chose.
Those late night sessions may have focused on my high school papers, but they were about so much more. They were a testimony of a father’s love. Those sessions affirmed my father’s belief that I was worthy to achieve whatever goal I set, that I could be whatever I wanted to be.
I hope that you have had the blessing of a good earthly father to encourage and teach you along the way. Still, I know that sadly, many do not have such loving parental support. However, there is one thing I know for certain. We all have a Heavenly Father who is always available to us. He loves us with a deep, unconditional, abiding love. He walks with us through all our days and waits up at night for us to call on Him. We can take our problems to Him at any time and He will listen patiently. While He does not always save us from our woes, He does work all things together for our ultimate good.
God is waiting for your note. He stands ready to hear your prayer, to respond to your plea for help. He is fully capable and readily available to see you through whatever lies ahead.
On this Father’s Day, please allow me to thank my Daddy for being my unofficial English teacher. Join me in thanking our Heavenly Father for the good men and women who have enriched our lives, for those kind teachers, coaches and mentors, who took their precious time to guide us through the learning opportunities of life.
+++
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
Proverbs 3:1-2 – NIV
PRAYER
O Heavenly Father, how grateful we are for Your love. You are ever present, just waiting for our call. You hear our pleas for help and You work for our good, even when we cannot see our way through the hard things of life. Thank You for our fathers and father figures who have encouraged and supported us throughout our lives. Thank You for the men and women who have served as our teachers, coaches and mentors. May we, in turn, be encouragers and mentors as we support others to become the people You created them to be.
Faith Beyond Sight 