Fathers Day Reflections

My Fathers Day Week was bitter/sweet.  As many of you know, my father has been affected by a form of dimentia.  We have been dealing with this for over a year now.  He has his good days and bad days, along with the gradual decompensation that goes along with the disease.  So this Fathers Day was sweet in that I still have my dad with me, but bitter in that he is going through some tough stuff. 

I am sure many can relate to the fact that it hurts so deeply to see a man that I have admired and certainly patterned my life after...go through something like this, without ever realizing it himself.  As you know, clarity and memory soon begin to disappear in those afflicted with dimentia.

It  is hard to describe but I have a profound respect and awe of my father.  Those of you who know my father, know what I am talking about.  Not that he has been a perfect man, husband or father, but that he has been a Godly one.  There in lies the difference.  There is something to be said about a man or woman who seeks to be godly.  There is an honor and respect I believe they deserve.  The scripture instructs us to give honor to whom honor is due. 

I was not able to be with dad on Fathers Day, but I called him after church to tell him that I loved him.  Watching him go through this illness keeps me longing for one more moment to tell him what I feel about him.  And God allowed me one more opportunity with dad that day.  I told him that I loved him, and then I began to express what a great dad he has been to me through the years.  You see, working in foster care like I have in recent years, I have observed the horror experienced by fatherless children.  I know what can happen to a child with no role models.  And by the grace of God, I have had one of the best examples of a father that any boy could ever hope to have.

I told dad what a godly father he had been and how he has influenced my life in being a husband, a father and a minister.  See my dad has spent his life in ministry.  Although he has never carried a title of a reverend, never been ordained by an organization, or called to the mission field; he has been a faithful deacon, sunday school teacher, usher, and altar worker for as long as I can remember.  Even now, in his condition, he doesn't want to miss church.  He has always loved being in the house of God and still knows how to pray.

Surprisingly, when I told dad what he meant to me, he said he wondered sometimes if he had been a good father and example.  And he thanked me on top of that!  Now I have told dad many times over the years these same sentiments, yet he still had his doubts.  I am so glad I had yet another opportunity to reinforce the love I have for dad.  It is an honor to be called his son.

Another sweet part of my Fathers Day was the birth of my sweet, little girl...a bundle of joy, Karsyn Sutley Holley, who was born on 6-14-10 at 3:01 p.m.  Now she made my Father's Day all the more special!  She is a beauty!

Being a godly father and husband is the most important thing I will ever do.  My wife and kids are my mission field.  If I cannot witness to them, who can I witness to.  If I cannot be an example in front of them, then I cannot be an example anywhere.  

So my challenge to all you dads out there is to stand up and be one!  Be the man that God has called you to be.  He has called you to be the priest of your home, to lead your family in the ways of God.  Stop being a child, and be a man!  The scripture says that "when I was a child, I spoke as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things..."  Its time to grow up and stop living life like you are still a kid.  Take responsibility and God will honor you for it.  You have been called to serve your family.  And the scripture calls us to do whatever it is we do with all of our heart as unto Him.

Facing Forward!

Stan