5 Ways to have a Happy Father’s Day

I am of the opinion that Father’s Day is for everyone. Granted, it is especially for dads, granddads, stepdads, and those who otherwise fill the role of “dad.”

But we ALL, men and women, have had a father. Whatever our relationship status, our position in society, or the number of “likes” on our Facebook posts, we are all a son or daughter of a father.

(Photo Credit)

Here are a few thoughts on having a good Father’s Day.

1. Thank God that we had a dad.
This is pre-pre-pre-Biology 101, but because we had a dad, we have physical life! Our dad may have loved us. Or he may have abandoned us. Regardless of his qualities and character, without him we would not be.
That’s not a bad thing to think about this Father’s Day!

2. Thank God for those who “father” us.
Ideally we learn who we are through healthy relationships with our own dads. But the positive influence of others also teaches us our identities.

• The coach who taught us we could exercise self-discipline.
• The teacher / mentor who walked with us through a season when we doubted our value.
• Even the boss, who gave us a second chance after we made that costly mistake in the workplace.
• Don’t forget the neighbor man who saw us struggling to clean out our gutters, or jump start our car, or trim the hedges; and offered to show us how to successfully complete the task that was threatening to become a disaster.
  

3. Thank God for friends.
Friends help fill in missing gaps that dads cannot help but leave. If our dads were workaholics, maybe we have a buddy who teaches us that the workplace will not implode if we go fishing. Or hiking. Or playing paintball.
If our dads were absent, we are thankful for friends who prove they will be present.

4. Thank God for the privilege to give what we did not receive.
Our dads may have missed giving us what we needed in some crucial areas. But, we can choose to speak affirming words that we may not have received. We can touch an elderly person’s arm, hug the lonely, and high-five the obnoxious teen. We can offer our gifts, skills, and time to others. We can honor, respect, forgive. We can love.

But we can’t do these things in our own strength….

5. Thank God that we can be perfectly “Fathered.”
God has given us a very special name for himself, “our Father.” Our dads may have been great or terrible. Fully present or always absent. Alive or deceased. None of them are, or were, perfect. Just as we are not.

But God wants us as his sons and daughters. He wants to perfectly love us and to heal those places where we have been wounded. To give us the strength to live and love fully as he created us and identified and named us.

Sons and Daughters, Happy Father’s Day!!!