A Father's Blessing: The REVERSED Version

Father's Day is a good time to speak about "the blessing," that all-important factor of dads blessing their sons and daughters. I strongly affirm it; THE FATHER'S BLESSING is crucial for a child's well-being. Dad, there's hardly anything in the world more life-changing for your children than hearing you bless them! Whether it's from the biological dad, step-dad or foster dad--or that gracious man who's like a father to them--every child needs a consistent, heartfelt 'atta-boy/atta-girl' from a father figure. Some of the most deprived children on earth are those who may have plenty in the way of worldly goods, but have never heard or felt or known their father's blessing.

Yet as vital as that is, I'm focusing today on the father's blessing in reverse. I'm thinking of how blessed I AM as a father.

I'm blessed first of all by God Himself, my Heavenly Father. He's my Provider and my Strong One. Growing up I sang "My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me." The refrain of that hymn says, "I trust in God, I know He cares for me, On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea; Though billows roll, He keeps my soul. My Heavenly Father watches over me." That truth has become even more precious in my senior years!

God is also my 'model' as a father; he demonstrates how to be a dad by balancing love and discipline, grace and truth, flexibility and order. The Bible makes it clear that God is the perfect role model for fatherhood. I can't say enough about God my Father's blessing!

And, I'm blessed by BEING a father. When Jolene and I met and married, I realized I had a treasure to be prized--an attractive, gifted, hard-working, articulate, partner in life and ministry. Then she made me a FATHER...a DADDY...a DAD! Along came our 'song' (Melodye), then our 'sunshine' (Carol), and then our 'sport' (David). Each one brought their unique personality, flavor, outlook, and dimension to our lives. Then each one married and their spouses added new freshness and vitality to the mix. Then each couple brought us to 'grand-level.' In recent years we've moved up to 'great-grand-level'--and are still growing in that direction!

All of that is to say as a father I'm a BLESSED man; today I'm giving thanks for the priceless privilege of 'the father's blessing in reverse.' Psalm 127 sums it up: "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord...Like arrows in the hands of a warrior...BLESSED is the man who fills his quiver with them." My quiver-full of children--by births, by marriages, and by spiritual connections through sixty-plus years of pastoral ministry--are blessing me today!