To Dad With Love

Father’s Day – a time to remember, honor, and thank Dad for all that he does for us and means to us. All we need to do is think and recall our childhood, and the picture of what Dad means becomes clearer. I remember him reading me bedtime stories. I remember sitting on his lap and watching television. I remember him carrying me in his arms. I recall playing with him – whether it was a board game like chess or a backyard sport like throwing a baseball or football. I remember him teaching me things about car engines or about what a word or phrase means; I can think of his many simple and direct lessons about life and what it means to work hard or live with integrity. I remember how stern his warnings could be if I did something that wasn’t right. I remember him assuring me that whatever I was afraid of wasn’t that bad and that I would be just fine. I remember his stories about his growing-up days and about his own father. While some of these things remain childhood memories, others continue even today.
Dad is a leader. He leads and protects the entire family in a spiritual and physical sense, but he also leads by example. It is from Dad that we get our ideas about what it means to be a good, honest, hard-working man who fears God. As children we watched everything he did and often imitated it – which may have caused him to tell us to “do as I say, not as I do”, because we know that Dads are imperfect. Still, Dad led us through our formative years by what he said and did, and that leadership has made us what we are today.
Dad is a teacher. When we were little, it seemed as if he knew everything. If we wanted to know what some object was, or why this or that was the case, or what a certain thing meant, all we had to do was ask Dad, and he was sure to have an answer. And then there were the lessons that prepared us for life, like how to use a power tool or hammer a nail; how to change the oil in a car or even drive it; how to fix something or make it from scratch. Sometimes Dad’s lessons were not invited, like all the times he told us what we were doing wrong and even the times he had to punish us for it. Dad could be gentle and patient, and other times he was a little harsher, but he always got his point across, and we respect him for that. It was all for our own good, and as we have grown older we have come to realize this with increasing clarity.
Dad is also a friend. He is one of the best friends we can ever have. He comes alongside us and asks us how we are doing, or comforts us when we are sad, or encourages us when we feel like giving up. He would do anything for us, because he loves his own flesh and blood; and we can go to him with anything, for he is ready to listen and lend a hand. For those of us who are sons, he treated us like soon-to-be men and had man-to-man talks when necessary. He treated his daughters with delicacy and respect, like little princesses.
Dad is not perfect – we understand that. But he is the only Dad we have, and we love him for who he is and for what he has done for us all our lives. He has had to put up with a lot from his children, but never once has he even considered giving up on us. In a small and imperfect way, he is an example for us of our heavenly Father. There is no way to fully realize how much his love, care, attention, and guidance have made us the people we have become. Today we take a moment to think about that and to thank him for his labor of love. We love you, Dad.