At the end of the day, a dad was tucking his young son into bed when the boy asked his father a question that had been on his mind all day.
“Dad, today we celebrated Father’s Day and last month we had a special day just for mom, too, so why is there not a special day called kid’s day that’s just for me?”
Without missing a beat, the father said to his son, “We celebrate Father’s Day one special day a year and Mother’s Day one special day a year, but all the other days of the year could be called kid’s day because we love you and try to make you feel special every day.”
The son had a real puzzled look on his face and then asked his dad, “Well, then I think you should get me presents on all of those days because I got you and mom a present on your special days.”
On Sunday, we celebrate Father’s Day, and it can be a day filled with mixed emotions, depending what circumstances surround your life.
For some, it will be a day filled with joy, like for the new fathers celebrating their first Father’s Day, or for the kids who wake up ready to make dad breakfast, then spend the rest of the day on the golf course or at the lake hanging out with dad, or for the families who get together to eat lunch and just enjoy the time spent with their dad.
For others, it will be a day of sorrow because their father has already passed from this earth and all you have left are the memories from the past, or for others, you must wake up again to the reality that there is no father present in your life and you long for that void to be filled.
For those in this group who struggle through Father’s Day because it brings mostly negative emotions and feelings to the surface of your life, I pray that you find encouragement in this: in Psalm 68:5, we find this statement, “a father to the fatherless is our God in his holy dwelling.”
I find it comforting to know that the God of all creation considers himself to be the father to all those who are fatherless. There is no greater father to have than this, but you have to let him into your life so he can be your father.
This won’t remove any hurt, but it does bring hope to what sometimes seems like a hopeless situation.
And finally, for everyone out there who has the privilege and great responsibility of being a father, I challenge you to love your family and set a positive example for them to follow each day of your life. Your family is looking to you for leadership, protection, and trust.
Have a great Father’s Day, and remember, the best gift you can give back to your family is yourself.
Josh Arrington is pastor of Church on the Rock in Pitt Meadows.