To the Men in My Life

June 19, 2005

This day does not pass without deep gratitude for the amazing men God has put in my life.

I encounter people regularly for whom Father’s Day brings nothing but pain, resurrecting memories of what wasn’t or what could have been. I am fully aware that countless people have a gaping hole in the place where a loving, encouraging, supportive father should have resided.

It’s a day like this that I feel both extraordinarily grateful and yet almost guilty that God, for reasons unbeknownst to me, has blessed me with a husband, a father and a father-in-law who are truly good.

My husband is someone I can depend on; he’s full of integrity, passionately pursuing Jesus and committed wholeheartedly to me, our marriage and our family. He cares for us, supports us, provides for us and serves as an anchor when the winds of life tug at our sails.

My dad is wise beyond words, fully accepting and unconditional in his love. His support is unwavering and his delight in his children and grandchildren is genuine and deep.

My father-in-law is quiet in strength, yet courageous in life. He’s reassuringly steady, unreservedly generous and exceptionally supportive (even when we moved his only two grandchildren to the other side of the country).

In a time when there is much talk about deadbeat dads, absent fathers, single mothers, fatherless children, etc., these men give me hope. Despite their imperfections, despite their mistakes, despite their failures, they each have persevered, holding firm to their commitments as husbands, as fathers and as men of God. And by their lives, they encourage me to press on despite my weaknesses, my mistakes and my failures. I am truly blessed among women.

Related posts:

1. Answers – 2nd installment
2. Are you wasting your life?
3. My dark year of the soul
4. Life update

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