My dad was the kind of kid liberals lovc to help. His parents divorced when he was entering his teenage years. He lived with his dad and brothers in a garage and worked part time as an office boy until he graduated from eighth grade. For awhile he helped his father and brothers do carpenter work but by the time he was sixteen, he was on his own - working as a farm laborer and then into the Pennsylvania oil fields as a rig builder, driller and, finally, into a factory as a stationary engineer. He married my mother when he was eighteen and she was seventeen. They had six kids. They worked and saved and paid cash for everything - including the several houses they owned, He was a tough love dad. He could never say “I love you.” but he was supportive after he knew you had done all you could for yourself. At night, from my bedroom, I once heard him complain to my mother about not feeling love from his kids but I did not have the courage to run down stairs and say “I love you Dad”. We were a Methodist family. We seldom missed church, even when traveling. Dad taught Sunday School and often took us to an evening service on Sunday at the Baptist church.

In spite of some scoliosis, I have never seen a man work so hard doing physical work as my dad. He advised us to “work hard and be dependable” in our employment. He seemed to regret that he had to take government hand-outs for six months during the Great Depression. My dad died when he was seventy-three. He was an example of endurance and dedication I will never forget.

From one father to other fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day. Be the best dad that you can be, not only for yourself, but especially for your children.

We are needed just as much as we need our children, far more than we, them or even many “high-minded” academians realize.

For all his faults I love and am thankful for my father, being there as much as he was able to be, given the cards that were dealt and that he dealt on his own due to divorce. I pray daily that I do not follow exactly in the footsteps of my father, his mistakes, as I effort to be the best father I can be for my children, husband to my wife and bondservant of Christ.

Too many are listening to the tickling of their ears, the lies of postmodernism, secularism and relativism that have done such disruption to the family and thus fathers. There is a social disease ravaging this nation and so many families across the board are affected by it. Hopefully many are learning from the sins and mistakes of the past and present, to continue or even rebuild their families and relationships, making our culture and society better not just on an individual level, but in totality.