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June 4, 2025Fatherhood is not for the fainthearted. From the first moment I found out my bride was pregnant, to the birth of each of my three children, and right through to the present day, I have been on a non-stop, up-and-down roller coaster ride of a lifetime, through twists and turns, laughter and tears, heartache and unspeakable joy, all because of these three insanely wonderful miracles in my life.
I would love to say that I have been the prefect Christian father, but that would be far from the truth. Over the years I have become a little better at parenting, but most of the time I continue to feel like I am carrying out a next-to impossible task without an instruction manual. Still, it is a blessing that is so beyond anything I could have ever imagined. This heavenly gift has taught me what it means to be an imperfect man loved by a perfect heavenly Father, as I walk the road of salvation from one faithful moment to the next, all for my good and the glory of God.
Memories and Meaningful Transformation
When I look to my own childhood, it is the struggles and mistakes that come to mind the most. I recall the pain of not having a father around for most of my life, and the subsequent failings that went with it. But when I think about my time with my children, it is those moments of joy that reveal themselves over and over again. I think about my son “reading” his first story from memory when he was only two. I picture my older daughter sitting at her toy piano singing about the animals in her little board book. And I see my younger daughter in her highchair chattering away and kicking her feet non-stop.
These little memories are perfect prophetic visions of the kinds of adults my children have grown to be. My son is a gifted and prolific writer, my older daughter a godly woman who seeks through service to sing God’s love into the lives of others, and my younger daughter a talented dancer who sees life as a series of intense and incredible moments of becoming. These are the sparks of grace that have shaped their character and kindled the fire of faith in their lives.
The fact that my gracious God has seen fit to place these beautiful souls in my life is truly a testament to the love and perfection of his purpose. The transformation that has taken place in their lives has led to my own growth as an earthly father and a man of God. Their unfolding beauty has helped to shape my own character and caused me to strive to be a better dad. I know that because of them I have become so much more than the selfish and insecure man of my younger days.
Three Dollar and Ten Cent Smiles
Over the years, I have learned that giving to my children brings incredible blessings into my life. Every once in a while on my way home from work, I stop and pick up an iced coffee with caramel, cream, and sugar for my younger daughter. One time when I handed her the drink, she told me she felt bad that I had bought it because she had several coffee gift cards and could have paid for it herself. I laughed and told her that for the incredible bargain price of three dollars and ten cents, I received the awesome gift of her beautiful smile.
I have had similar moments with my other children, where a simple gift or gesture has brought a joy to their faces that has melted my heart beyond words. These treasures are mine because of all we have experienced in good times and bad, through many tears and triumphs along the road of life. Sharing our stories with each other allows these little magic moments to have a meaning so beyond the giving of a gift. These tokens of love merely reflect the extraordinary journey we have taken together; and in the giving, I receive so much more than I could ever deserve.
To be a part of my children’s lives is a timeless gift that brings tremendous rewards. Facing the trials together and calling on God to supply the grace to journey through them brings a joy I cannot fully describe. Joining in my children’s successes and struggles is sacramental in nature. This sharing reveals the grace of God in ways that are truly transformational. It is so precious and so profound, that in experiencing it, I am made aware of just how unworthy I am to receive it. Still, at the same time, I am enabled to take hold of this grace and run my fatherly race right into the heavenly realms. I stand face-to-face with the reality of such mercy in the midst of my own insufficiency. And yet, here I am, privileged to walk with my children through the journey of life day by precious day.
Joyful Exhaustion and Glorious Unfolding
I find Father’s Day to be a deeply profound celebration. My children honor me as their father with gifts and cards and ice cream cake. They tell me how much I have influenced their lives and how much they have grown because of the love and care I have shown them. It is heartwarming to bask in these moments; and yet, in the kingdom of heaven, such testimony means so much more.
It is the character that Christ has built in the lives of my children that is the real gift. It is a joyfully overwhelming reminder of the grace of God that overcomes my imperfections and guides me along the journey of fatherhood. I know that I could never have loved my children enough were it not for the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Such an act of self-giving has taught me what it means to surrender my life in service to their salvation. Each moment of moving from faith to faith that my children experience becomes a gift that pours itself into my life, giving me the strength to love them to the full until the very day I die.
These blessings in my life point to the way our heavenly Father delights in guiding his children along the road to redemption, watching us grow one stumbling step at a time. Just as I have come to treasure how my babies have become mature young adults, I know that my Father in heaven cherishes who I am and who I am becoming in his Son. It is the same for all who believe. God watches us grow from our baptism through the years of trials and triumphs along the narrow road. He nourishes us with the word and the sacraments and walks us through Calvary in fear and trembling to the gates of heaven on the other side.
The Church and the Changing Nature of Fatherhood
Because I am a part of the universal Body of believers, I share in the ever-unfolding nature of what it means to love my children as I have been loved by my heavenly Father. I see more clearly each day the divine discipline and tender love that is shaping the Church into the spotless Bride of Christ to be presented pure and holy to the Son on the day of the great wedding feast to come. It has taught me the astonishing truth that fatherhood is a day-to-day journey of building up my children in order to let them go as they become who God has made them to be.
This is the surrender of salvation, the death to sin and selfishness that God grows within me and I, to a lesser degree, have worked to instill in the lives of my children. Like the Church, I am preparing these precious souls for the day of their salvation, training them up in the way of Christ, so they will one day walk through heaven’s door. Each day I pray that by the grace of God they will continue this legacy of love by pouring themselves into the lives of their own children, drawing strength from the Church and the One who is leading us all to our heavenly home.
In many ways I was not prepared for this vision of fatherhood. I had believed it would be through my own character that my children would blossom into adults ready to take on the world. But it has been through contemplating my own humble place within the Church that I have seen just how my heavenly Father has taken my insufficiency and my sinful heart and transformed me into someone who is willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do the heavy lifting that fatherhood requires.
Father’s Day Just Keeps Getting Better and Better
The journey of fatherhood is far from over. My children continue to walk the road of salvation, sometimes faltering as they reach new milestones in their lives. I press on with the charge I have been given, watching them grow through the trials and celebrating the moments of triumph with satisfaction and contentment so unspeakably awesome that I wonder how my frail frame can contain the love and joy that comes from this calling.
Each step along this journey is a beautiful reminder that Father’s Day is about the gift of my children, the grace of the One who guides me as their father, and the goodness that is mine because of the Father who sent his Son to show me the way to love my family through the cross. Men, as you celebrate the privilege of fatherhood, may God bring you to a greater understanding of the mercy that has been revealed to you through your children, and the grace that shapes the way you care for your family and experience the delight your heavenly Father has for you.