Daddy's Little Girl

All little girls fall in love with their daddies first. I know I did. And from the looks of it, Olivia is in love with her daddy too. My parents were born around the time of the Great Depression and I am 38 years old. Technically, I was raised by grandparents and maybe that has a lot to do with the "wisdom" imparted upon me as I was growing up.

In today's culture of independent thinking and progressive social agendas, I am going to make a bold statement for which I will not excuse myself: A father is an important and integral part of the family unit and apart from a tragedy (death, etc.), or a separation due to uncontrollable circumstances like abuse, there is, nor will there ever be a better environment to raise a child except that which is delineated in the Word of God.

Today because of a friends Facebook post for #girltalk, I started thinking about my father and his impact on my life. Did he have an impact on who I am, who I dated and ultimately, who I married? Continue reading and find out.

We may or may not want to admit it, but all fathers, whether involved or not involved, whether present or not, will have an impact on the development of their children's character and it will be evident by the decisions that person will choose to make.

My father was my hero. When I was growing up and well into my teen years and young adulthood, I considered him to be the most intelligent and kind man alive. I didn't agree with him all the time, but I always (almost always) chose to comply. I honored him by obeying him in spite of myself. Many times I flirted with the thought of rebellion, but his love and his protection (or the thought of losing it) kept me on the straight path. I mentioned on a recent Facebook post that he and his brothers grew up without a father and dirt poor, yet there was not one drug addict or thief in the bunch. His wisdom was not always the most PC, but now as an adult I find that motherhood is constantly reminding me of his words. 

Did you notice what I wrote in the last paragraph? And I quote (myself), "his love and his protection (or the thought of losing it) kept me on the straight path". That sounds like what God does for us? He gives us, as His children, His Love and protection. The older I get the more I understand certain things. Our freedom in Christ allows us to willfully submit to Him because we know He loves us and will protect us (He has plans to prosper us). We trust Him implicitly just like we do our earthly fathers as we get ready to jump into that pool for the first time when we are 4 years old. Incredible how the relationship with our Heavenly Father is so similar to our relationship with our earthly father. It was meant to be that way. Through our earthly relationships, we experience a small glimpse of the Love of Christ for us. 

So did my father have an impact on me? Well... I learned how to deal with people from him, with kindness, respect and authority. I have always enjoyed very healthy relationships with all the men in my life, never feeling like a victim. He taught me that no one was better than me or had the right to humiliate me. I learned what kind of wife I wanted to be from my father. One who would respect and submit to a husband who is willing to die for her. As a matter of fact, I consider myself blessed beyond what I deserve as I now have two men who would die for me and a God who did. He taught me about being a parent. I want to be loved and respected by my children in the same way that I love and respect him. His work ethic: impeccable. And finally, among many other things, he offered me the opportunity to be better than the previous generation. He sent me to a Christian School where I learned what he couldn't teach me about the Love and Word of God and he sent me to College. That was probably his greatest success as a father.

My father also provided a safe haven for me. I felt safe when I was with him. Not my house, it was him. He was my anchor as I navigated through rough waters. I learned that I wanted to marry a man with whom I would always feel protected. A strong man of God who could provide me with a place to rest when I felt weak and who would slow me down when I was moving too fast or going in the wrong direction. Of course, he has his shortcomings as we all do, but I also learned from that. For example, I married a man who is fiscally conservative, which my father applauds and in his old age realizes that he could have been wiser with his money.

The above list of examples of how my father has and continues to impact the development of my character is just the tip of the iceberg. The more I think about it, the longer the list gets. Even today, as he cares for my mother, he demonstrates Love and Love comes from God (John 4:7). So, how did he impact my life? Through a deep and complex web of unspoken lessons, he laid the foundation for who I am today.

Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.