In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson made the first presidential proclamation declaring that Father’s would be honored on the third Sunday in June.
This Sunday is Father’s Day. And for those of you who know me well, well, you know that my father’s health has been declining for some time. And for those of you who have taken my dad’s name to heaven or more than one occasion – THANK YOU!
With Father’s Day right around the corner (four days from now), I wanted to write my father a letter… a letter that I wanted to share with you.
I do this in part to give you some insight into who I am, because so much of who I am; how I think, how I operate and how I walk with God – well, it’s because of my dad and his influence on me.
But I share this with you mostly to also acknowledge what I think we all know to be true… no father is perfect — every father falls short. Some worse than others I realize, but one of the things that I’ve always appreciated about my father is how quick he is to acknowledge his shortcomings.
He never pretended to be perfect.
He never acted as if he had it altogether.
And to be honest, I’ve learned more about life through my father’s failures than I did through his successes because as we all know, success is not so much about never falling down, but the ability to get back up every time you fall.
My dad is now 87… and though his body his failing him, his heart and love for God, his wife, his five children and 20 grandchildren remain as STRONG as ever.
His race is coming to end… he is on his final lap, and rather than wait to write him something about how his life impacted me after he was gone, I’m doing that now.
What I’ve written below is for my father as I celebrate him for the 54th time this Father’s Day. I hope that it encourages you, but more than anything, I hope that if you’re able to do so, you’ll take a moment to let your dad know how thankful you are for him.
As you read this letter, I thought it might be helpful to see a picture of my dad… this was the last time he visited GENESIS a few years back. His smile and joy are contagious!
Dear Dad,
Four days from now, for the 54th time, I will celebrate you as my father.
My words here will fall woefully short in expressing just how grateful I am to God for you. I don’t know if this will be my final Father’s Day with you as your health continues to decline, but if it is, then I wanted to in the most public way that I could honor you for the godly man, godly husband, godly dad and godly leader you continue to be.
I am who I am because of you!
You have and continue to teach me so much…
Character…
Integrity…
Work ethic…
Winsomeness…
Generosity…
Humor…
Great listener…
Great at asking thoughtful questions…
Husbanding…
Fathering…
Leading…
Praying…
Reading God’s Word…
Love for college sports:).
Dad… all of those things are important and I’m so grateful you modeled each of these for me in increasing ways, but hands down, more than anything, you SHOWED ME what my Heavenly Father is like. You showed me His grace, His patience, His faithfulness, His Kindness, His forbearance, and His love by being a tangible expression of each of those things.
I did not make it easy on you…
I was hard-hearted.
I was stubborn.
I was rebellious.
I was selfish.
But through all of those seasons… you extended to me what I needed more than anything…
GOD’S GRACE… GOD’S LOVE.
Dad, I’m forever grateful that you not only modeled for me how to walk with God – truly thankful for that! But as we both know, there are times where we will fall down in our walk with God. And out of all of the things you showed me, it was your ability to get back up to keep fighting the good fight of faith.
Dad, you are warrior… but you are a TENDER WARRIOR! Anyone who knows you has felt God’s care, concern and compassion as it flows so freely through you.
Dad, by ‘worldly’ standards, you were a massive success.
Successful on the baseball field… making it to the majors!
Successful in the business world… Procter & Gamble owes much of their success to you!
Successful in degrees, accolades and so many accomplishments along the way.
But just so you know Dad… although I absolutely love and respect all of the ‘successes’ you had along the way – what made you so successful had everything to do with your FAITHFULNESS — namely, your faithfulness to follow Jesus!
Dad, let me finish with this… not so much my words, but something the Apostle Paul wrote as he was getting ever so close to the end of his journey this side of eternity.
“My life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”
2 Timothy 4:6-7 (NLT)
Thank you, dad, for pouring out your life for the good of others to the glory of God.
Thank you, dad, for fighting the GREAT fight of faith in order to help so many people walk with God!
Thank you, dad, for running a truly INCREDIBLE RACE!
Thank you, dad, for remaining faithful!
Thanks for showing me The Way!
Thanks for being relentless in taking my name to heaven every day!
Thanks for finishing well!
But MOST of all…
Thanks for giving me a glimpse of what my Heavenly Father is like!
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
I love ya!
