On most days I have some idea about what I hope to achieve.  Occasionally things go as planned, but more frequently adjustments have to be made.  As I get older my desire for uninterrupted days seems to get stronger and that can produce frustrations.  Nevertheless, I try to stay flexible so that life can be as smooth as possible.

A few Saturdays ago I had my day all mapped out in my head.   Following long work weeks, Saturdays are always filled with things that need to be done at home and much final preparations for church services on Sunday.  As I was about to embark on a busy last day of the week, my wife received a phone call from one of our children with a special request:  “Ask Dad if he can change the turn signal bulb on my car.”  There was a day when such a task was straight forward and easy, but our modern vehicles are not always so friendly to deal with.  Her husband is quite mechanically minded and more knowledgeable about a lot of things than I am, but she said he looked at the car and could not figure out how to change it.  Since I have a vehicle similar to hers, I knew exactly what to do; I also knew that the job could be a little tricky.  But what do you tell your baby girl when she makes a request for your help?  I put my plans aside for a little while and did what every good dad does; I got the job done and she was able to continue with her plans for the day.

Later as I was in the garden watering a few things, little Raegan came and joined me.  As I watered each tomato plant I stepped sideways to the next one.  As I looked at the little girl I noticed that she was taking sidesteps too—just like Papa.  Being a daddy is a great pleasure in life; only one thing is better—being a granddaddy.

We should be thankful for all the special times in life when we get to serve our families and have an impact on the little ones.  Yet we also are aware that we have to face the unexpected and unpleasant seasons in life.  When we do, we have to make some deliberate choices about them; we can allow them to disrupt our lives, or we can leave them behind and move ahead.  Certainly, God wants us to learn from our adversities, refuse to come under the control of things that interrupt us, and move forward.  With that, it is essential that we always bear in mind that those unpleasant, unfortunate, and unwanted events in life are quite often beyond our control, so it is imperative that we learn to trust God as our strength and not try to overcome them without His help.

Paul, a great man of God and one of the writers of the Bible, offers us some words of encouragement and guidance that can be useful to us all, and can be especially beneficial for helping dads to be what God has called us to be.  Paul instructs us to “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong”  (1 Corinthians 16:13, New International Version).

During this Father’s Day observance, may all dads remember that in the good and not so good times in life, God is there to guide you, help you, give you wisdom, and lift you up when you fail.