At a speaking engagement, an older man with a walker approached me. Despite his age and obvious physical ailments, he was still strong and full of life. His eyes lit up as he started to give me some unsolicited parenting advice. He said, “I have 4 girls. And starting on their 5th birthday, I’d pull up my antique Chevy, ring the doorbell, give them flowers, and take them on a date.” Tears started streaming down his face as he said, “And when I turned 50 they all came to my door with flowers and took me out on a date.”
The Psalms and Proverbs talk about children being a blessing from the Lord. Men, you have the honor of carrying the name “father”. You are the earthly representation of our Heavenly Father. Active, present, godly fathers are people our children need!
Dads, it doesn’t take much time or money to make your kids feel special. Anything from an ice cream date to asking how their day was and listening to the answer will do. But it does take focused, one-on-one time. You might regret a lot of things when you’re looking back at life. One thing I can promise you is you won’t regret spending time on those kids.