After the celebration….

This year more than any, I’ve noticed how so many friends as well as strangers have made an effort to express so much emotion, aspiration, adoration and prayers for the father they have, the father they lost and for some the father they never had or was never there.

Yesterday was “Father’s Day” in the Philippines and as some smart ass once put it, it is the one day in the year that we fathers don’t have to do the laundry, wash the dishes or clean the house. It is the one day of the year we have our wife’s permission to act like we are Kings of the house. And thanks to commercialism as well as a genuine appreciation of fathers who have truly been real fathers, many of us were treated like royalty, received home made cards, presents, flowers, ties and other odds and ends signifying sincere love and the innocent affection of children.

Some guys will get lucky with their treats, others will nod in predictable appreciation and then toss those trinkets to the side, never again to look or hold those gifts made with effort, excitement and expectant approval. I can only hope that if you’re a father, that you realized that yesterday was as much a big thing for your family. If for some reason you feel you short-changed your wife, your son or your daughter in terms of expressed appreciation and love, drop everything right now and do right by them this instance.

Just to put everything in perspective, last Saturday on the eve of Father’s Day, I accidentally got to watch a movie I was suppose to have watched a very long time ago. The movie was entitled “Courageous” and all the guys in my circle of race car and modifier group unanimously judged the movie as something that hits you in the chest, in the guts and in the heart. I won’t tell you the story because I would like all of you fathers to troop down to the nearest video store and buy the copy that sells for a bargain. On the other hand, all the moms and kids out there would get a great return on their investment if they bought it and watch it with “dad”.

Having no means to reach the producers & writers of the movie, I take the risk of lifting the text of the crucial speech from the movie believing that the people involved in the production would want nothing more than to get this important statement to every father out there. Now that you’ve received special honor, read the speech, watch the movie and ask your self: have you really been the father you were meant to be?

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Adam Mitchell’s Speech for Fathers – Courageous

“As a law-enforcement officer, I’ve seen firsthand the deep hurt and devastation that fatherlessness brings in a child’s life. Our prisons are full of men and women who lived recklessly after being abandoned by their fathers, wounded by the men who should have loved them the most. Many now follow the same pattern of irresponsibility that their fathers did.

While so many mothers have sacrificed to help their children survive, they were never intended to carry the weight alone. We thank God for them.

But research is proving that a child also desperately needs a daddy. There’s no way around this fact. As you know, earlier this year, my family endured the tragic loss of our 9-year-old daughter, Emily. Her death forced me to realize that not only had I not taken advantage of the priceless time I had with her, but that I did not truly understand how crucial my role was as a father to her and our son, Dylan. Since her passing, I’ve asked God to show me, through his word how to be the father that I need to be.

I now believe that God desires for every father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there or providing for them, he’s to walk with them through their lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their father in heaven.

A father should love his children and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them and teach them about God.
He should model how to walk with integrity and treat others with respect and should call out his children to become responsible men and women who live their lives for what matters in eternity.

Some men will hear this and mock it or ignore it.
But I tell you that as a father, you are accountable to God for the position of influence he has given you.
You can’t fall asleep at the wheel only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value but the souls of your children do.

Some men will hear this and agree with it but have no resolve to live it out.
lnstead, they will live for themselves and waste the opportunity to leave a godly legacy for the next generation.

But there are some men who, regardless of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did not do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach our children to do the same, and, whenever possible, to love and mentor others who have no father in their lives but who desperately need help and direction.

We are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous to join us in this resolution.
In my home, the decision has already been made.
You don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will.
You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because l will.
Who will accept the responsibility of providing and protecting my family? I will.
Who will ask God to break the chain of destructive patterns in my family’s history? I will.
Who will pray for and bless my children to boldly pursue whatever God calls them to do?
I am their father. l will.

I accept this responsibility, and it is my privilege to embrace it.
I want the favor of God and his blessing on my home.
Any good man does.
So where are you, men of courage?
Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord?
It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you and to say, “I will. I will. I will.”

(From the movie “Courageous” Sherwood Films / Alabama production group / Directed by Alex Kendrick)

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