Those numbers are frightening. My reaction is to rush home and hug my husband. Even though every day is not filled with warm fuzzy feelings from sun up to sun down, he is still the man I can depend on. Oh, how thankful I am not to be a part of the above statics.
It was a few minutes later though that I was brought to tears by a comment Tony Evans made. After being asked about his father, he replied, “My father is my hero.” So often in today’s world, people give praise to their mother, while the fathers are chopped liver. This man had a father that was his hero!!
Moms, it is great to be loved by our children. It is a huge part of our life to nurture them and to train them. Yet, one of greatest gifts we can give our sons is a hero for a father.
How do we do that? We speak respectfully of him, we honor him to our children, we brag of him in their presence, and we live joyfully with him. Purposefully allowing and encouraging time for sons and fathers to be together creates time for them to bond. Father and son side by side that is how mentoring looks.
What about daughters? Daughters need their fathers just as desperately, it is just a different kind of need. It is more of an emotional role fathers play in a daughter’s life. Security and love are felt by a girl who knows her Daddy cares about her. This girl isn’t looking to fill that hole in her heart, because her Daddy has her heart.
How do we do encourage this? Same as before, we speak respectfully of him, we honor him to our children, we brag of him in their presence, and we live joyfully with him. Purposefully allowing and encouraging time for daughters and fathers to be together creates time for love to be shared. Father and daughter face to face that is how mentoring looks.