In the age of single mothers raising their children, I have observed that the true role of fathers is sometimes misunderstood and needs to be honored if our children are to experience the best of what fathering and mothering has to give them. While it is true that a father has a profound capacity to comfort, tend to, cuddle, nurture and love his children, fathers often feel another calling inside of them that is as important for children to experience in their development.
Fathers encourage us to stretch our wings. They teach us to explore our world and take on the adventures. They teach us about meeting the challenges in our lives and becoming our personal best. We learn from them the concept of reasonable risk.
We learn about pride, accomplishment, and setting goals just a little bit beyond what we think we can do.
Yes, mothers can effectively teach these things too, yet fathers have their own unique way of introducing us to opportunities and encouraging our growth. Fathers look at us when we are growing up with that special nod of the head that says, “You can do it. Be wise. Be mindful. And do it.”
Fathers know we may skin our knees many times as we learn to ride our bikes. They expect you might fall off the monkey bars learning how to hang upside down. They don’t typically mind how dirty or sweaty we get when you are on a grand learning adventure. When we ask for help, they are often cautious about how much help to give, because they really want to see us succeed on our own.
Fathers teach us to aspire to our greatest potential. They know that the challenges will help us discover who we are and what we are made of. They know life isn’t always easy or soft, and they often even seem to like the challenges. Dads are our heroes.
Of course, some dads have been too wounded to be heroes to us, and they need our compassion—being willing to understand there are challenges they encountered that we may not yet be able to fully comprehend.
And some dads have given us more than we could have ever asked for. There are those wonderful fathers that welcomed us into the world from the day we were born and raised us into adulthood. There are those fathers that found us years after we were born, and loved us as if we were their own blood. There are also fathers that found room in their hearts to bring loving father energy to many people when they needed it or fathered ideas and businesses into being.
Fathers physically and metaphorically, stand us up on their shoulders so that we can get a better view of the world around us. They know we like to feel important, special, excited, motivated, and enthused about life, and they help us experience that exuberance for living.
The spirit of Sacred Father is like that of white light racing through the vastness of space. It flows through the arms of the loving fathers here on earth that wrap their arms around us, kiss us on the head, and then release us to the world, telling us to fly.
For a prayer honoring fathers visit: http://newdreamfoundation.com/forums/index.php/topic,1482.0.html
Today, let us honor the fathers that have been a part of our growing-up. Let us recognize them for the choices they made that helped us find our wings to fly.
