The Impact of Fathers

 When I was growing up my relationship with my father was not as strong. He had a job that required a lot of time and when he would finally get home he was exhausted. There were also other factors that went into the kind of relationship I had with my dad growing up that made it challenging. It's something I look back on with some sadness and regret. What really changed my relationship with my dad was when he no longer had the job that had taken so much of his time and his energy. We suddenly had a lot more time to spend with him. That was when I really began to understand how much of an amazing man my father is. He began taking us to school and talking with us more. I was getting the chance to really get to know my dad and I was loving it. It was a hard year due to his unemployment but I would never trade that year because that is the year I understood what fatherhood was and I got to know my dad. 

Fathers have a very unique role in our lives. They are often a good source of wisdom and counsel. They are the ones who help you learn how to ride a bike or buy your first car. They are goofy and somehow always know how to make you laugh even when you are having the worst day. They give the best hugs that make you feel more protected than anything else I know. There is something about them that just makes you feel safe and secure. 

Unfortunately, not all fathers live up to this ideal. There are many in this life who have never had the benefit of having a reliable and steady dad. There are many who will never even know who their father is. This world has increasingly lost sight of the beauty a father figure can bring into the lives of families. 

This can be very discouraging and upsetting. Though I don't understand completely what it would be like to not have my dad around or to have a dad with who I don't feel safe and secure, I've tasted enough to know it is not a world I would willingly choose to live in. Everyone deserves to have a father who is present and who is kind and loving.

That is why I am very grateful for my Heavenly Father. Our Heavenly Father (God) is the perfect ideal of everything a father should be. He is kind and understanding and all-forgiving. He guides us and respects us and lets us learn. He is always there when we need Him and He will never abandon us. He loves us unconditionally.

Fathers also have the potential to be great supporters for the growth of children in a family. There are studies that show that when a baby is crying and needs comfort often women hold the baby turned towards them while fathers hold the baby turned away from them. This is because fathers have a key role in turning their children out towards the world to learn and experience the things it offers them while mothers tend to turn their children inward to comfort and nurture them. This to me demonstrates how much of a team mothers and fathers are. We need both of them and what they uniquely offer in order to get full advantage of experience in this world. 

Fathers provide and protect and in doing so they allow mothers to perform their role of nurturing and loving. Without both, there are issues children come across in this world. There is a great damage that can be done to a child when their father is not present in their lives. 

Thankfully though this world is imperfect and filled with inadequate or absent fathers we truly are blessed with the best father of all, our Heavenly Father. 

I am very grateful for the relationship I have built with my father. I could not be more grateful to have the kind of relationship that I have with him now. He is one of my favorite people in this world and I don't know what I would do without him. I feel grateful for the relationship I have with my Heavenly Father as well. He is always there when I need Him and I know He is guiding me through this challenging life.