Father’s Day is coming up soon! I don’t know about you, but I am so excited to honor Dad! He has absolutely loved being a father – he adores you children, and ooooh, I’m sure, he’s going to love being a grandpa one day!
Your Dad is a good man. There have been many decisions that he’s made that prove that! Unfortunately, you can’t always see what I see. As our child, your perspective was very different from ours. While you were growing up and deciding how to handle the latest crisis with your legos or when you’d be able to get your first cell phone – Dad was out slaying dragons. His dragons were a little different than anything you could imagine. Dragons that breathed fire on his family, his wife, his integrity and his career. The dragons we faced at home were like those little lizards in the yard compared to the ones Dad faced daily.
I remember a few years ago, out of the blue – I felt compelled to affirm Dad and tell him: “You are a good man.”
As soon as I spoke those words, a thought popped into my mind: It’s much harder to be a good man than it is to be a good woman. Oh. Ohhhhhhhhhh.
Then it occurred to me: There are loads of temptations that men face every day that I cannot even fathom. In all the years of our marriage, I had never stopped to think of all the dragons Dad must have had to slay to be “A Good Man.”
Dragons that were fierce and relentless…. Imagine the temptation for Dad to be tired at the end of a long workday – when he had worked at a job he didn’t care for “just to pay the bills.” Or the temptation to be selfish when he saw we’d been to the beach while he worked. Or the responsibility of having to carry the household and still come home and fix a broken toilet or leaky faucet with a good attitude. How about the temptation of pornography, or greener pastures just over the fence? Think of Dad’s desire to climb the corporate ladder – that he chose to mitigate to be home for us? Or the times I called him to come home on his lunch hour because I couldn’t deal with a parenting issue….
I’m so proud of Dad. He’s been a good man. Indeed! Oh, yes, he’s made mistakes! Yes, his share of them – but so have I. And so will you, when you are a parent. It’s simply the price of being human. We both hate it. Especially when we see a consequence of our mistakes. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than to see your child suffer because of your parenting mistakes. We can’t apologize more than we already have. Dad says that’s why we like watching the sitcom The Middle – we end up belly laughing over how clearly horrific those parents are! We pray that you will overcome every one of our blunders and be all that God created you to be. 🙂
I know you’ll join me in honoring the man that your father has been to our family. God certainly handpicked him for our family. He’s quite amazing! I’m proud to be his wife and I pray that you are proud of him as a father and a role model.
We both love you dearly!
Hi Blogging Friends! If you’d like to join the Linkup party just click on the inlink button below!! Enjoy your week!
Laurie says
What a wonderful tribute to your husband! Mine is also one of the good ones. Yes, we have both made mistakes, but so has everyone. One benefit of having sons who were raised by a good man is that now I get to see them be good fathers to my grandsons. What a blessing!
Char says
Oh I can’t wait to see what wonderful fathers my sons will be!! That’s good fruit Laurie!
nylse says
I think it is equally hard to be a good woman as it is to be a good man. It’s because we all start by getting our cues from the surrounding culture instead of God’s word. Culture has a warped view of manhood. When I got this revelation it was enlightening. Good men aren’t rare they’re just not honored enough because we think manhood is somehow counter to being a good man.
Thanks for sharing.
Char says
Good men aren’t rare. And they do need to be honored. I hope this letter inspires others to honor them. Thanks for sharing Nylse!
Michele Morin says
It’s so important to celebrate the men in our lives!
Char says
Yes it is!
Rachel says
Beautiful Char! I’m so glad you and I both got a good one!! It’s important to honor them! 🙂
Char says
Amen!
Rebecca Hastings says
Affirming our husbands is so important, and so often I forget to do it. I agree that the path of being a “good man,” of walking a narrow path is challenging for men. I’m not sure it’s more difficult than that women face. I just think they look different. When men are leading their families I’m sure they face hard things we cannot always understand.
Char says
I totally understand what you’re saying- we all face challenges that are pretty mighty. I think women have more support via friends than men do. Having others to encourage us is an advantage many men don’t experience at the same level.
Marilyn Lesniak says
Thank you for hosting! My offerings this week include a Raspberry Custard Pie, Michigan Salad, and Chicken and Bacon Mac and Cheese in a Sourdough Bread Bowl . Enjoy your week!
Lauren Sparks says
A beautiful tribute. laurensparks.net
susan says
It really is hard to be a “good man” which makes me appreciate the “good men” in my life that much more! We all face daily temptations but there’s something beautiful about telling the men in our life that we appreciate and see what they face and how they handle it.
Char says
We all love to be appreciated. It’s good to look a little deeper and let them know. Good to hear from you Susan!!
Patrick Weseman says
Such beautiful words and a lovely tribute. Thanks for sharing it. Very nice.
Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
Patricia says
Such a lovely post! Thank you for sharing your heart!
Donna Reidland says
I always appreciate your open letters, but I think this is one of the most powerful that you have written. Thanks for saying it so well!
Char says
Ahhh! Thanks Donna.
Mary Hill says
Thank you for sharing your Father’s Day wishes on the #LMMLinkup this week.