"Studies have shown"

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

Today is Father’s Day and I woke up thinking about my own father and what he means to me and my brothers. I was watching one of the Sunday morning news shows and they were doing a special on the new generation of dads who are trying to spend more time with their children. They said fathers, more so than ever were taking on many of the household duties and much more of the childcare responsibilities. They went on to say, “recent studies have shown” that young children who spend more time with their fathers will grow into more confident young people. They showed videos of fathers and small children taking classes together to learn activities that will enhance their time together. As I watched the television I became even more thankful for my father. None of the information from the show was wrong but, my father never needed a study to teach him how to spend time with me and my brothers. As far as I know, my father never even participated in a study and I know he never attended a class to learn how to spend time with me. I am being a little sarcastic but the Sunday morning news program did make me appreciate my father even more. My father raised three boys to be confident young men who are capable of raising our own children. My father worked long hours at a physically demanding job but always had time to throw a ball, teach us to fish, or help with homework. More important, he taught us by example how to work hard at whatever the job may be. We learned that not all work is fun but we were expected to do the work correctly regardless. We learned that honesty is a trait we must have and dishonesty would never be accepted. We learned that we were important to our father by the way he treated our mother with love and respect and we slept safely every night because our dad viewed our lives as more important than his own.

My father’s love for me and my brothers was a tiny glimpse into the depth of love my Heavenly Father has for me. As fathers we have an awesome responsibility to be the spiritual leaders of our homes. Sure, we have to teach them how to fish and how to throw a ball but our most important mission is to teach our children about our Heavenly Father. I am very thankful for a father who did all of those things, and never needed a study to show him how.


Chad