I’m going to take a week off from blogging about vision. Why? Well, this Sunday is Father’s Day and though I’m sure it was a hallmark creation, it’s still a good reminder to pause and think about the whole dad thing. I’d like to tell you about my dad.
My dad is really special and like most people I didn’t realize that until I got old enough to realize what I had. My dad taught me to drive, taught me to throw a baseball, took me to more Gator Football games than I could possibly remember, taught me how to correctly count offering money for church (he was a church treasurer forever) and how to spoil my loved ones. My dad is one of the most generous and loyal people you could ever meet – I’ve consistently known him to go without so others would have even a little of something.
Those are all cool things – things that I’ll never forget, but there is something else that makes my dad extra special and makes me very thankful. My dad chose me. See not a lot of folks know this, but I was adopted by my dad. My mom and biological father split after I was born. I lived with my mom and my bio-dad and I started to drift. When I was around 5, my mom married this guy that I called CAR (I couldn’t pronounce the L on the end). One of my earliest memories is painting a shed in our back yard together. When I was 7, my little sister was born and my mom and CAR started talking about how little I was seeing my bio and how I needed someone all the time. CAR wanted to adopt me. He wanted to be more than my step-dad, he wanted to be my dad.
I don’t have much memory of the change – one day I came home and was told that my last name was changed. I think by then I was already calling him dad, so I thought it was cool. From that point on, I haven’t had any contact with the bio and when asked I’ll say my dad is the man I called CAR. Dad was married to my mom, and he could’ve just put up with me as a stepson, but that’s not the kind of man my dad is. No, he wanted me to know that I was important to him that I mattered and that we belonged together.
I never realized the depths of what someone has to go through in order to adopt. I do now. I know what it takes to adopt and thus what it’s like to be loved and chosen. My dad’s not perfect – far from it, and I’m sure there’s a Dodge Spirit rotting somewhere that is a living testimony to it – but he’s my dad. He did one other thing for me too – he made sure that I knew who my BIG DAD was and is. Dad is always praying for me – both on his own and then when I have a need and we’re talking on the phone. Dad’s been a pointer to my heavenly dad and that’s something that all I can do is say thanks and try to pass it on to my boys now.
It’s funny how many people tell me that I look like my dad. I always smile and say thanks. I know the truth – now you do to – but it’s okay. My dad chose me and I’m honored to look like he does – whatever that means.
I pray that this weekend, you’ll be able to thank a dad in your life. Maybe not your bio, maybe not even a man, but someone who’s pointed you to our BIG DAD. I don’t know if you’re dad was a good dad or not, but I do know that our heavenly father chose you – he wanted you and I to know that we’re loved, that we’re wanted and that we too can look just like Him.
Happy Father’s Day Dad and to all the dads out there!