Honor thy father and thy mother. Exodus 20:12
May comes and goes with celebrations for mom in many ways. Certainly, she ought to receive our love and admiration for all she does. Words will probably never be enough to describe her never-ending task of nurturing and caring for her offspring.
But there is a special person who also deserves our love, recognition, admiration and our gratitude. This person is usually overshadowed by the glamour that revolves around Mother’s day and remains in quiet longing for some gratitude and appreciation from the ones he works so hard to provide a home, and all their needs for. He is a person whose way of showing love differs from that of mom, but whose love is unmeasured.
That special man is dad. Fathers are special people. My father was a blessing in my life. Thou he lived a short life, he is still impacting mine. He was a loving husband, a caring father, a diligent worker and a man of his word. His way of disciplining and his example go a long way. I thank God for the privilege of having an awesome father. Awesome, because through his life, he showed us what it means to love God and one another.
I thank God for fathers who strive to be the best example they can be for their kids, for fathers who provide not only financial stability, but emotional and spiritual stability too. I thank God for fathers, who not only discipline, but who also become friends with their kids; fathers who fear not to acknowledge they have made mistakes, fathers who will
love unconditionally and inspire their family with understanding, forgiveness and acceptance.
One day is not enough to show and express gratitude and admiration for a father’s role and contribution to his family and community. But it is certainly appropriate to recognize the great importance of their role and how much a good father is appreciated. It is a blessing to have a caring father and I am blessed with the memories of a godly father.
To all the fathers that do their best and have done the best, to all the fathers that make life worthwhile… thanks from the bottom of my heart. May God bless each and every father with wisdom to do what is right for your family. May God give you his blessing and may you have a very, very happy father’s day. And thou you may not be perfect, may your day be perfect to celebrate what you are: a father, a special man.
©Rhodi Alers de López, 2005, 06-17
