UNUSUAL DADS

by Heidi Khalil

June 17, 2022

Photo by Josh Willink on Pexels.com

I would like to wish a happy day to all of the dads out there! As this Father’s Day began to get closer, I started to think about what makes a dad special. I have only ever had one Daddy. He was very present in my life as a child and as an adult, until he passed away several years ago. My Dad was a pastor, and I got to witness a lot of men failing as dads because he was usually counseling them for one reason or another. Yet, I always understood from my Dad, that he felt that he didn’t know how to be a “dad”, because his dad died when he was 5. I have different memories of him, especially when I was a teen, of him apologizing because he was trying to do his best, but didn’t know if he was hitting the mark.

While I was growing up, there seemed to be a type of stereo typing of what a good dad was supposed to look like. My Dad didn’t fit this stereo type for so many reasons. So, as a tribute to so many dads who feel like somehow they missed the mark. This one is for you.

My Daddy, was an awesome father to me. He was pretty easy going and VERY GENTLE. He was a life long pastor. What you saw was what you got. He was the same at home as he was in church. He read the Bible and sang praises with us everyday. He was a sharp dresser and an avid reader. He woke us up with a good sized hand bell every morning, to call us to worship. He was very tall and had extremely big hands. He couldn’t fix many things. However, he could fix shingles on the roof, and change the tires and oil on the car. He and Mom painted inside our house, and were fond of stick on tiles (lots of people had them back in the day). He used to go bike riding with us on occasion, and used to make me a big tumbler of carrot juice most mornings, when I was a teen.

My Daddy was into health. He made sure that I got my vitamins, and that I was protected. He used to give the best foot rubs, and was convinced that people needed them on a regular basis. He was retired by the time I was 13. He was the age of my friend’s grandfathers. But he looked so good for his age that it never seemed to be an issue.

He took my friends and I to the park on senior skip day in our huge station wagon, that sat 8 people. We had a cookout and he sat and read his paper, oblivious….or so I thought (I finally figured it out as I got older). He had agreed to take us, if we would feed him. My friends were so impressed, and a little confused. We had such a lovely day.

He was good with my husband and my children. He would come over and help me on my farm. He rode “shotgun” in so many of my country endeavors.

In all of his feelings of inadequacy, I found him to be an excellent father! His imperfections were very minor in comparison to what we were given. I was consistently given positive messages about who we were as a family and what we stood for. I was complimented on my abilities that I excelled in, as well when I looked nice, but he didn’t make too much of a big deal out of it, just enough to let me know that he acknowledged it. (He didn’t want us to get a big head.) This is huge for any child, or teen. Confidence was instilled in me by both of my parents.

My take away is this….You don’t have to fit anyone’s mold, to be a good father. Men with strong, Godly character make good dads. If a dad treats his children how he would like to be treated, teaches them how to follow Christ by word and by example, makes sure that they are physically and spiritually safe, these are the main things.

So Dads, stay close to God, and hang out with your children. Make sure that they have enough confidence in you to trust you with their hearts. Teach them what you know. You will tie strings of fellowship with them that will stand the test of time. Have a fabulous day!