If you will, allow me to share something that I hold dear to this day. It is a copy of an article written by my dad in 1996. One of his many hats is Director for a Christian counseling center that he began in the early 1980’s. Each month, there is a newsletter. Normally, his portion of the newsletter deals with current issues facing families, stats, etc. However, in June of 1996, he wrote the following article. I hope you enjoy it.

Dear Friend:

My monthly contribution to this newsletter usually deals with issues which are critical to the Christian community and the family. But as Father’s Day approaches, I trust you will allow me liberty to share some personal, fatherly thoughts.

I was talking to my carpet the other day. I know that may sound strange, but we were finally replacing our very old carpet with new, and rolls of our old carpet were laying in the yard ready to be discarded. That carpet had long outlived its normal usefulness, but it had served us well. it should have been replaced several years ago, but other family needs took priority. [We] chose many years ago to do our best to meet the needs of our children as they developed, so we had accepted only modest raises in our standard of living through those demanding years. Many parents today seem to lose sight of the importance of investing in their marriage and their children, choosing instead to take a materialistic approach to child rearing. But we realized we would have our children for only a brief moment, so some needs, such as carpet, could wait.

As I looked at the carpet that had covered the living and dining areas, I remembered the fun we had around the Christmas trees, and the building of long, plastic race tracks for racing small cars. I recalled how many times we would sit with our small children in a circle listening to fun songs about the fruit of the Spirit, have devotionals and hold hands praying. I also remember how many times that carpet burned my knees as I rode both of our children on my back to cheerful “giddy-ups.” The dozens of family birthdays and other celebrations were also embedded in that carpet. I patted the old den carpet and thought of our babies crawling, and of our playing games and wrestling with them as they became older. Both our our children knelt on that old den carpet to receive Christ. I remember the times, when in the midst of a mutual crisis in our ministries, we knelt there with friends seeking God’s leadership. I stroked the children’s thick bedroom carpet, worn thin from many days of play and laughter. I recalled the many times we stood or knelt beside our children to listen to their prayers and to pray for them. That carpet experienced the normal “thrills of victory” as well as the “agonies of defeat” that accompany the turmoil of teenage years.

Yes, that carpet served a family. It played an important role in our commitment to build our marriage and raise our children. Our “family project” took work and sacrifice over an extended period of time…but isn’t that what love does? Yes, that old carpet had been an important part of our family life for many years. To toss it out as so much as garbage just didn’t seem right. So I talked to it briefly and expressed thanks to our Father for seeing us through a really great family life.

Incidentally, our children are grown now. Our son lives in Nashville [...] Our daughter [...] Both are seeking to serve the Lord, and assure their mother and me that they plan to have the type of committed family in which they were raised. It they choose to follow our footsteps, they will need some fine, long-lasting carpet.

Pray for your family and the thousands of families in our city and county. There is tremendous turmoil in families, and it simply isn’t necessary…nor is it the way God planned it. [...]

————————————————

That was written 12 years ago this month and I’ve kept a copy of this with me ever since. There’s got to be a song in there somewhere, right?! But this Father’s Day week, I wanted to share this small window into my life growing up. In our home, time was cherished, God was central and everyone was loved. I pray that my kids can look back and say the same.

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

Happy Father’s Day, all you faithful, Christian dads out there!

Soli deo Gloria!

David

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)