Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Rad Dads
I’ve heard it said that any man can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a real dad. Having experienced a real dad for myself, and watching my late husband be a rad dad to our children for 34 years, I would agree with the lede statement. How fun it would be to spend another day with my dad – with both of us in our younger years! I’m grateful he did the “dad thing” right. He was affectionate, easily demonstrating his feelings of love and acceptance to me and my brother. Interestingly, fatherhood provides men with the choice of either being a rad dad or a bad dad. Yep, it’s a serious responsibility, so choose wisely.
As a daughter growing up, the one-on-one time I spent with Dad wasn’t financially costly or impressive by worldly standards. But to us, it was fun, memorable, and knit our hearts together for all time. Only once did we go quail hunting – I was a bad shot and we never did that again! We were members of the Stockton Saddle Club and we rode our horses with our friends every Monday night at the arena. We also went on trail rides and rode with the Club in the Stockton Black Walnut Festival parade. Dad taught me how to check the fluids in my vehicle, drive defensively and drive “with the traffic” in Springfield. His words were, “You gotta’ drive for yourself and the other man too.”
We would laugh together as we watched our favorite TV series: The Carol Burnette Show, All in the Family, The Honeymooners (Jackie Gleason), Mash 4077, Hogan’s Heroes, and The Dean Martin Show. We watched every Western series known to man: Gunsmoke, High Chaparral, Bonanza, The Virginian, Rawhide, The Big Valley, Wagon Train, and The Rifleman. I wouldn’t trade those special times with Dad for love nor money.
Dad knew how to get the most out of life and that included being the spiritual leader of our home. When the church doors were open, we were there. At home, we found joy in singing gospel songs around the piano. We did our best to study and practice the Word of God. Dad taught us to have a reverential fear of God and to promptly obey Him. A Christian father is a flesh-and-blood example of God to his children. Godly dads who represent their heavenly Father well in front of their kids will subconsciously cause them to believe, accept, and trust Jesus much easier. A rad dad works hard for the good of his family and cares about love, peace, laughter, and the spiritual health of his household.
Fathers, if you make mistakes (and you will because you’re human) God will stand by you. If you fall short of His commandments, He’ll still love you. If you feel worried, He will touch your heart and lift your soul. If you don’t know what to do, He’ll show you. God is wide-awake and He’ll not abandon you in your responsibilities as a dad.
Don’t be blinded by the “bigness” of fatherhood. Don’t allow yourself to be waylaid by our stressed-out, freaked-out culture. And please remember to set aside time to play with, love on, and enjoy your kids! Satan will use every means to make you think you don’t have time to hang out with them. Your kids desperately need you to simply relax and “be you” with them! Your calling as a godly dad is not overlooked by God. He knows every hill and curve along the sometimes bumpy road of fatherhood.
The Key: Fathers, with God’s help, you’ve got what it takes to be a rad dad!