Calling All Dads

"It is much easier to become a father than to be one." 
 Kent Nerburn,
Letters to My Son: Reflections on Becoming a Man, 1994

Recently my husband and I went into a restaurant where he noticed a guy wearing aTiger Woods hat.  He then told me about Tiger and his father.  I knew about Tiger's  admiration for his father, but I was unaware of the close bond that existed between them.  My husband, Richard, believes that Tiger is the successful golf champion that he is because his father believed in him and taught him to believe him himself.   When we returned home I looked up this special relationship for myself.  Sure enough, just as Richard had said, there was quite a lot of info on this father-son pair.

The Washington Post reported Eugene Robinson as saying, “ "Earl Woods did much more than raise a supremely talented golfer. In an age when it's rare to read a sentence with the words 'African American' and 'father' that doesn't also include 'absent' or some other pejorative, Earl and Tiger Woods were the world's most visible, and inspiring, counterexample.”

I wonder at times if fathers really know just how big a role they play in their children’s lives.   It’s not only the sons who win from a father that’s on the scene and actively engaged in their child’s life, but the daughters also.   Contrary to  popular belief, there is a role for a Mom and a Dad  in raising a family. 

Father, you have an awesome role if you have fathered a child.  This child is depending on you to tell him he is o.k., that he is somebody and that he is  a great person and will be a fantastic adult someday.  He needs your approval more than you can ever imagine.  He needs to know, in a world where everyone finds fault, that he is above average, that he has your approval, that he has unconditional love from you, unconditional being the key word.   This does not mean approval for all his actions.  This means approval for who he is, even as more than likely, you will not approve of some of his actions..

There are many broken homes today, leaving children hurt, angry, lonely and not sure of anything. There are many absent fathers in children’s lives.  This does not mean that a child can not grow to his or her potential in this situation.  It does mean that both parents have to try harder to let the child know that they are not the reason for the split and no matter what, they have what it takes to become all they were created to be.  This means putting aside selfishness from both parents and putting the child first.  If this is not done,children grow into adult men and women never knowing who they are and whether or not they are "o.k.".  We can’t “fix” the world.  But we can change a child’s life, one child at a time, one day at a time.

A child is a miracle, a blend of you and a person you love or loved for a season.  Make sure that life stays a miracle, grown in the atmosphere of acceptance and unconditional love. You can do it! 

 "My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."
Clarence Budington Kelland

"The greatest gift I ever had
came from God; I call him Dad!
   ~Author Unknown~