Honor, Respect, and Celebration

"He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers."

- Malachi 4:6

Hi Moms! This weekend we celebrate Dads!!

I first want to acknowledge those of you who may be reading this as a single mom. Whether widowed, estranged due to a harmful relationship, or perhaps managing a broken relationship the best you can, our hearts and prayers are with you and your child(ren) this weekend. May I encourage you, in spite of the current season, to celebrate God's goodness and provision knowing He can and does father in a powerful and intimate way. We pray for comfort for you. We pray you will seek wisdom and revelation from your Heavenly Father for the weekend ahead. We trust that, as you ask, He will fulfill His promise to guide you and your children in peace and joy throughout this weekend. This weekend my family will be celebrating our 26th Father’s Day and I still remember how excited I was to have a little something wrapped and “written” from our 2 month old baby girl to give to Lane. Seeing Lane be celebrated in his new role of Daddy was endearing and fun, but, upon reflection, it was SO MUCH MORE! Moms, every time we celebrate Dads we affirm in them the importance of their role as father; we show appreciation for their unique and needed part in the family, and we confirm their worth as the father of our children. The Bible is so clear when it comes to a man's need and desire for respect. The need is real. I’ve been married long enough to know that we are all married to humans and sometimes their behaviors or choices don’t elicit respect. (Just like some of our behavior isn’t lovable 😉) However, God has chosen to make each father a father, and each and every father is made in His image. We can choose to celebrate God's design for our family even in and with imperfections! As my children got older, I shifted responsibility of the celebration to them.But with littles I would begin a conversation with, “Father’s Day is coming up; how do you want to celebrate your Dad? What do you think he would like?” They would come up with all the ideas and I would let them know how I could support their vision. They were excited to plan but the conversation was a bit more covert. You see, I was planting seeds and watering a habit of honor and respect believing they would carry those habits with them into adulthood. As the parent of grown children I no longer take on the responsibility of Father’s Day for Lane unless one of my kids initiates a request for help in some way. The celebration of their Daddy is a part of their unique and personal relationship with him. I find joy in watching how they love on their Dad. I love when they work together from all over the country to plan something as siblings. And for my own father, I love on my Dad and thank God I still have the opportunity to do so!

Take this opportunity to plant seeds for the generations! You’ll be glad you did!