Thursday, June 28, 2012

6-25-12

Reflections on Father’s Day with a piece below that some of you fathers/grandfathers out there may want to copy and give to your children/grandchildren. [Written by one of our faithful Crossroads fathers/grandfathers…Used with permission.]

“I am reminded each Father’s Day of the wonderful blessing I have been given by the Lord.  Being a father and grandfather is one of the greatest gifts in this life.  But we are not perfect you know, unlike our Heavenly Father.  There are many things, looking back, that we would have done differently.  To be a father and grandfather carries such a great responsibility.   We work to provide a living and we try to balance that with family time.  We try to always be loving and thoughtful, but we often fail.  We talk when we should listen and give advice when we should take it.  We take when we should give and we admonish when we should praise.  How grateful I am that we all have a Heavenly Father that does none of that.  He is always faithful, never compromising.  He loves us for whatever reason, never admonishing, never criticizing, always listening, always forgiving.  To be like him, that would be my goal as a father and grandfather.


Let me assure you of this…In the early morning hours, when my mind is clear and the cares of the days are gone, I pray for you.  I lift up each of your names to the Lord.  I pray for your safety, and I pray that your minds and hearts, and the things you say and the things you do are in His will.  I pray for that protective shield around you that will follow you all of your days.  I pray that you will love the Lord with all your heart, and that you will, in turn, lead others to Him by what you say and do.  I pray for Him to forgive when you fail and when you stray.


I count among my greatest blessings the gift of being able to participate in the baptism of both of you [adult children] and witnessing my grandchildren being baptized.  You see, it doesn’t matter how much education you have, the amount of holdings you accrue, or your stature in society.  It doesn’t matter how nice you’ve been as a father and grandfather, if your children or grandchildren are lost.


Being a father and a grandfather is and will continue to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.  I promise you this…I will continue to fail miserably at times. I’ll continue to be insensitive at times, when I should be sensitive; and at times I will fail to set the example I should.

But remember this: I love each one of you with all my soul and all my heart.  I’m terribly proud of each one of you…And I truly would die for you.  I have been blessed with a wonderful wife, and a wonderful family.  I have been blessed in innumerable ways.  All of these blessings have come from my Heavenly Father, the very same Father you have.  So my prayer for you is this:  Every day be thankful, and then, be thankful again, for the perfect Father in heaven that we all have.

With love, Dad and Grandpa”

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