father's day

hello.

welcome to father's day and the art of two fingers and one thumb typing. i had dreamed one blog, but am typing another. i am conserving my capital letters for another blog. also its easier and quicker to not use them when several of your fingers are bandaged.

i invited my father and step mom down this weekend for father's day. i wanted it to be a special time, where son took care of dad. it started well with dinner and a movie friday. saturday he helped me with some overdue house maintenance, that is until my middle digits on my left hand tried to make friends with a rotating chain saw blade. oops. hey, did you know that the most expensive jewelry you will ever wear is an emergency room bracelet? well, after my accident, my wife and kids finished helping my dad. the weekend should end well though... no more sharp objects for me for awhile as a friend told me!

to the point though...

father's day is important. it has been an afterthought to mother's day recently, but that needs to change. far too often we hear about "deadbeat dad's" and "absentee father's." Men have bought into the cultural myth that mother's rear children while father is the breadwinner that has neither time nor patience to get involved with children... or worse, that men are unnecessary past the donation of dna to the basic process. in our reductionist age, where biology seems to have the upper-hand in determining human value and relations, women become monogamous nurturers who ovulate once a month and men become the irrepressible, irresponsible, polygamous seed sowers. but is that the final word?

created in God's image, past simple biology, the behavior of human beings has other determining factors. we have intellectual, spiritual and moral capacities as well. we are created for community - and that begins with family. we have the great privilege of choosing our mates. we do have the ability to restrain our reproductive urges; and, dads, we can and must be more than dna donors in our world!

children need fathers to which they can look up as much as they need mothers. they need fathers that model healthy love to their mothers. they need fathers that aren't afraid to show emotion, exercise their intellect and who will worship God unashamed.

children need dads who aren't consumed with being their 'buddies' but who will walk the straight and narrow way for them and with them.

So, man, pick-up the mantle. Understand who you were created to be. Be the man and father our world and your children needs; because when you are gone... the only legacy that you will leave, is your children.