It’s going to sound odd to say, but as I reflect on Father’s day I have conflicting emotions about what it means to be a father.
On the one hand, it’s a job you will have for the rest of your life and is truly fulfilling, but on the other hand it’s a job who’s ultimate goal is to make yourself irrelevant. We raise our children by teaching them everything we know, only to one day realize that we know nothing compared to them.
It reminds me of an orthodox Jewish friend of mine who went to see his Rabbi. He tells him “I don’t know what to do with my son. He was born a good Jewish boy, he knew the torah, and could discuss deep thoughts with the rabbi, some people even thought he would become a rabbi. But then I sent him out into the world, next thing I know – he’s a Christian!”. The Rabbi responds, “You know…funny story…the EXACT same thing happened to me. My son, a nice Jewish boy, knew the torah inside and out, people thought he was maybe going to be a rabbi. Then, I send him out into the world – next thing you know he’s become a Christian!” As they ponder this, the heavens open up, there is a blinding light, and from within the light comes the voice of God, who says “You know…funny story…”
Our children are not our children…they belong to the future, and they belong to a heavenly father who claimed them long before even we ourselves were born. We celebrate fatherhood today, but often delude ourselves into thinking it has something to do with gender. It doesn’t. We all know women out there who by circumstance or design have been both mother and father to their children, and have done exceptional jobs. It’s not about the gender! If you think about it, it isn’t even about genetics…
It’s about claiming a child as your own, with all their faults and their talents, it’s about accepting them for who they are, and guiding them to become who they can be. As some of you know, I was rather ill back in April, and had to spend a few days home from work. It gave me a chance to see what was going on in daytime TV, and one of the shows that really captured my attention was Jerry Springer. Jerry was doing a series of shows about paternity…in the end, a baby either left without a daddy, and with a mommy who had just been humiliated in front of millions of people OR a baby found a daddy that didn’t want him or her. Either way, everyone looses. But in one segment, there was young man who said “Jerry, I don’t care what the paternity results say…that’s MY baby…”
I loved when that happened, because it reminds me of what God has done for each and every one of us …He claims this beautiful child, with all their talents and skills, and all their weaknesses and faults, and redeems them by his blood.
God is constantly making this offer to be in our lives, all the time, and all we have to do is say YES to this offer, and if we do, then we have a Father who will never miss a little league game, or a soccer game, then we have a father who will be at our graduations, our weddings, the births of our children, our retirement parties. Then we have a father who will be there holding us in his strong arms, and kissing our foreheads as we take our last breath.
But too often we find it hard to say yes. We’re like the man who, while out enjoying the beauty of God in nature slips, and as he’s about to fall over a cliff he grabs on to a protruding root. He can’t hold on very long, so he begins to yell for help. He hears a voice say “It is me, God. I’m here. You can let go of the root, and I will bear you up to safety on the wings of angels.”
The man ponders this a moment, and then says,” God…is there anyone ELSE up there with a rope?”
It’s our nature, we can’t let ourselves let go of that root, whatever that root is that prevents us from saying yes. We hang on to that root thinking that it will save us, but don’t realize that the root is not holding us up, it is holding us down. Some day, we WILL have to let go of that root and give ourselves over to God, and when we do, we will realize all the opportunities we missed out on by not saying yes earlier, and having Him in our lives sooner.
Peace to you all,
About Me
- Al Correa
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
- I am a freelance writer, and a full-time writer-wannabe. I feel lucky to have a real day time job that pays the bills, so I can write and not have to care if anyone but me likes it or not. I am also fortunate to have had some fabulous instructors at Second City in Chicago who, more than anything else, have helped me find my own writing voice. I am told that I am naturally funny, and have used that to varied success in improve work and stand-up, as well as in my periodic preaching work(hence the "Reverend") but I think that what most folks perceive as being funny is really just a reflection of the irony I see in every day life. So, even as I begin to find ways to make some folding money off of doing something that most people have mastered by the Fourth Grade, I’ll continue to write for the sake of writing - for the sheer joy of it, and hope that someone out there actually cares to read what I've written.