Every year we hold a place on the third Sunday of June to honor our fathers, grandfathers, and if you’re very fortunate great-grandfathers. With so many devastating things going on in our world this year in particular, I want to encourage you to honor the love and faithful actions you’ve been fortunate to receive from the dads in your life.
Please comment below and brag about your dad or grandpa with a sentence or more of a memory of their love and faithfulness in your life. Tell about an experience or character trait your remember. It can be sentimental, funny or serious.
The Marines have a well know phrase they use often – Semper Fi. Always Faithful – or Always Loyal. An admirable trait we all want to see in others and make a priority ourselves. In fact, the Marines website states: “A Marine’s core values of honor, courage and commitment underpin every decision he or she makes.” Loyalty in action.
Also on the USMC website: “In the chaos of battle, character matters.” – WOW – that hits home this week in particular. We saw close-up that when character is lacking in the ‘chaos of battle’ really unfortunate things happen.
Faithful actions or words rarely make the headlines. Faithful and loyal actions don’t invoke fear or hatred. Faithful and loyal words spoken break down fear and hatred. Most powerful when given consistently.
How did your dad or grandad show his faithfulness towards you or your family? Did he work hard to provide? Did he fill your home with fun and laughter with his presence? Did he tell great stories? Did he take you on simple but adventurous outings?
My own father showed his faithfulness in listening actively when anyone in our family talked.
He asked active questions when we talked about boring subjects.
He laughed at our not very funny attempts at humor.
He gave enormous bear hugs when he sensed sorrow or fear in our eyes or words.
It may be tempting to treat Father’s Day as a retail holiday. Reducing the day to just gifts and/or barbecues, limits the opportunity for it to be so much more. Be intentional this year and express your admiration and appreciation for dad.
In our home, both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day were days we developed family traditions that got everyone involved.
First up was breakfast in bed. Mom and dad on each respective day got to vote on the menu for both breakfast and the main meal. We had a special tray that was used only on birthdays and Mother’s and Father’s Day. Tucked on the tray were also cards and gifts, but the gifts weren’t the focus. When the kids were little they would sit with us and graze from the delicacies.
After breakfast we attended church, which was a normal Sunday event. The afternoon included a second privilege. Choosing what the family activity would be. My husband loves to grill and we all love it when he grills so that almost always happened both on Mother’s Day and on Father’s Day. Some years he chose to take the kids to the driving range. Some days he chose an outing such as a long drive ending up where good milkshakes could be purchased.
Both my husband’s dad and my dad passed away before either of our kids were born. We have made intentional efforts over the years to talk about them and the memories we have of them. We feel it’s important to pass these stories along to our kids.
Sometimes duty dictates that dad will be deployed on Father’s Day. If your dad will be far from home, consider sending him one of 2MyHero’s care packages with items perfect for sending any military member. 3 care packages to choose from are available on Etsy. Price includes Priority Mail shipping. I’ll even include a handwritten note for you if you’d like.
Don’t forget to comment below or on 2MyHero on Facebook or Instagram and brag about your dad or grandpa with a sentence or more of a memory of their love and faithfulness in your life. Tell about an experience or character trait your remember. It can be sentimental, funny or serious.
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