Fathers – Learn from Them All

By: June Owens

First and foremost, let’s celebrate all the wonderful fathers we get to call family and friends here on earth. We hope their special day is filled with love and smiles. This includes the one I am blessed to do life alongside, the captain of our crew, who tirelessly goes above and beyond in exemplifying what it means to be a hero. We have learned so much from him!

• A great father doesn't really need a cape. They just demonstrate a never-ending love for their kiddos and a willingness to stand in the gap, through ALL of their lives.
• If your actions don’t live up to your words, you really have nothing to say. Our kiddos could hear the love from his mouth AND see it through his everyday involvement. Both are equally important!
• God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listening, at their eye level, is one of the best ways to show our little ones how important they are.
• No one is perfect. This parenting thing is a process and requires practice, evaluation, and revision. Saying “I’m sorry” when they are little is a powerful lesson that will follow into adulthood.
• Priorities matter and no one comes with an expertise in juggling. While our children need to see we can balance careers, social lives, church, and family … they should NOT consistently be in that order. The YMCA has a great opportunity called Adventure Guides for parents and kids to spend quality time together, building their own unique bonds and memories. Check it out here!

Next, if you're missing a father that simply choses to no longer be in your life, I know first-hand that today is really hard. Let's not pretend it's any different and realize the importance of not being alone in our pain. There's a wound always there that feels more open today, especially when searching through the hallmark cards to help celebrate another father. You can feel the salt pouring in that wound as everyone celebrates a part in your life that is seemingly broken.

For the past ten years, every shooting star, every candle on the cake, every wishbone at Thanksgiving, involved the hope that good ole Dad might want ME to be in his life again. Yet, today is different. I know that without him and all that he HASN'T done throughout my life, I wouldn't be all that I am.  See, I have learned so much from him, too. Because of him, I fight every day to ensure my children and grandchildren know they are priceless, amazing, loved unconditionally, respected, appreciated, celebrated, and worth EVERY sacrifice I make for them. Today, I will notice the burn, give it moment, and then feel the salt heal, being thankful for the father who gave me this beautiful life I choose to live differently. I invite you to do the same alongside me because we have also learned that there’s healing in letting go of something we simply cannot change.