Happy Father’s Day! I hope you all have a wonderful day today and that you know how loved and important you are.
And if you’re missing your dad today, you’re not alone. I pray you have treasured memories. My dad was one of the funniest people in the world. He was a natural storyteller. He made me believe I could do anything. He also suffered and struggled with alcoholism most of his life. But, oh, the joy and laughter we had! So much of who I am is because of our late night conversations. I miss him. He passed away in 2019 from lung cancer.
For many, this day is hard to talk about. The relationship is complicated. As John Eldridge said in Wild at Heart:
“Every boy, in his journey to become a man, takes an arrow in the center of his heart, in the place of his strength. Because the wound is rarely discussed and even more rarely healed, every man carries a wound. And the wound is nearly always given by his father.”
The father who gave the wound can probably say the same.
John Eldredge continued the conversation in his book Fathered By God:
“You are the son of a kind, strong, and engaged Father, a Father wise enough to guide you in the Way, generous enough to provide for your journey, offering to walk with you every step. This is perhaps the hardest thing for us to believe—really believe, down deep in our hearts, so that it changes us forever, changes the way we approach each day.”
No matter where you’re at in your journey as a father or a son or all the feelings about your father, I hope you take some time today to know that it all matters.
And here’s a book list naming the 100 best fatherhood books of all time. Enjoy!
https://www.shortform.com/best-books/genre/best-fatherhood-books-of-all-time
With much love,
Brandy