Being a Dad with Sincere Persistence

Hello and Welcome Home!

Its been one of those weeks. One of those weeks in which I begin to ponder way more things than I really should that come with being a dad.  It's one of those things where you wonder how much you're actually helping your children, or what value you are offering them. 

Truthfully, it comes down to the 

question of why.

Are there times when you feel this way? It's not as uncommon as we dads may think. We work so hard to help our children avoid the same mistakes we made growing up and to help them embrace the value of living a good life. Then, no matter how hard you try the message is ignored, it's pushed aside, it's thrown back at you in full force. Rejection.

It's hard sometimes, isn't it? Experiencing these moments while being a dad is not fun.  But I've often found that the moments after are much better.  It sometimes takes a bit of time but when my kids actually do get something I'm trying to teach them, everything seems to look a bit different.  They understand something that will give them value in life. We get to see that we actually are making a difference in their little lives. It's Astounding, Joyful Even.

Here is what It's come to for me; Sincere persistence, not perfection; Vision and desire, not a system that just works. It takes time for our children to understand the things we are working so hard to teach them. They do not learn things overnight, no matter how much we wish they would. We truly can and do make a difference in the way they see things.  Our children do not reject the lessons we are trying to impart upon them forever.

Even when it seems that things aren't going the way we want, we can hold on to the sincerity that is behind the goals we have in being a dad to our children. If we consistently pursue the lessons we long to teach them, they will eventually embrace them.

"Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us." Titus 2:7-8 ESV

Living by Faith, with our Family,

M.E.