First Baptist Church of Herndon

Thanks Dad!

Linda Soller | Jun 15, 2015

If I asked you to stop right now, in place, and list the times you said, “Thanks Dad”, what would your list look like? I bet the list would include things like thanks for the cash, thanks for the ride, thanks for picking up the kids, thanks for letting me use the car, and so on. I know my list would include those things. My list of things I never thanked my dad for would be even longer. Several special items come to mind right away. As we approach Fathers’ Day I wanted to share a few things I am thankful for and wish like crazy I had told my dad when he was alive. Maybe it will trigger the addition of a few items to your list.

Thanks Dad for showing me a man can be strong and vulnerable at the same time. It has given me empathy for others and comfort in the demonstration of emotions. As a child I felt totally safe and genuinely loved. I never doubted either.

Thanks Dad for showing me the value of laughter, the impact of a smile, and the importance of knowing when something isn’t funny. My dad could tell a joke like nobody’s business, he would have a smile for you in an instant, but we kids knew never to laugh at another’s expense.

Thanks Dad for showing me hard work is not a bad thing and is often only hard if you have a bad attitude. Like many people my dad had multiple jobs. Looking back they always involved people contact. He would say do what you love, but he would add as long as you can take care of your responsibilities. For these many years I have tried to do both.

Thanks Dad for your honesty. It was not always what I wanted to hear, but I knew I could count on him to give me a straight answer. He said things with authority so you believed him. He was mostly right, which could be frustrating! I have since learned how hard it can be to give honest answers when you know the truth isn’t what the recipient really hopes to hear.

Thanks Dad for loving your family so intensely. He made no bones about it and would tell anyone how much his family meant to him. The devotion he had to all of us united us. His favorite stories when traveling down memory lane were about family. I always treasured his story of the first time he saw me as a baby and held me in his two hands. I treasured it because I could see the memory transported him back to the night it happened. I learned there is never a wrong time to tell the people you love that you love them.

No dad or father figure is perfect, mine included. Even so I feel we spend most of our time thanking them for the more superficial things they give us. As Christians we have the perfect father example in God. He provides support, comfort, and unconditional love. We still face life’s challenges, but we know we are not alone. Like our earthly fathers we sometimes get in the habit of thanking God only when things go the way we want. Isn’t it time we thanked Him for all the less obvious but infinitely more important gifts we hold inside, and use daily to face the world? God wants the same familiarity we share with our earthly dads.

As I gaze into the vast sky and think of God and my father looking down at me I say with all my heart, “Thanks Dad!”

Happy Fathers’ Day!  Have a great week! :o)  Linda