The task is a mighty one, perhaps the most important job a man will ever do.
It requires heroic effort and a strong constitution but fatherhood done well leaves a fine and generous mark not only a man’s immediate family but on the greater family and on many generations to follow. It is this heroic aspect of man that entices a son to venture forth and live:
“Henry James once defined life as that predicament which precedes death, and certainly nobody owes you a debt of honor or gratitude for getting him into that predicament. But a child does owe his father a debt, if dad, having gotten him into this peck of trouble, takes off his coat and buckles down to the job of showing his son how best to crash through it.” – Clarence Budington Kelland
Isn’t that the quintessential picture of a father! A father is a man who buckles down, who knows what he must do and does the best job he can, moving mountains if he must. A good father is sturdy and true. He protects and provides. He defines the floor and the walls as he guides and directs but he also lets his children open new doors bravely trying new things under his watchful eye. A father’s love is a love to be counted on for discipline, safety, security, instruction, tenderness, excitement…and fun. Fathers have the ability to rise above the greivances and hardships of the day to offer hope and assurance for the future.
The measure of a father’s love is often mirrored in a mother’s face:
“The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.” – Rev. Theodore Hesburgh
This, of course is where the romantic qualities in every man shine forth; the place where the tough, capable exterior quiets for a time to create intimacy. Children notice, appreciate and benefit from this facet of male strength. In this place is found great poetry and music, literature and art. In this place lies the passion behind a man’s love for his family but also for his work, his service and his favorite hobbies and sports.
In this place too is found the special love a man feels for his daughter:
“There’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.” – John Gregory Brown
No man can achieve perfection, but for all the dads out there who get up every day and give it their best shot we at Post Scripts thank you.
Happy Father’s Day Men!