The wisdom of a father
Only fathers are qualified to give fatherly wisdom, just as the wisdom of mothers is their exclusive domain.
So here’s some of what I have to offer.
Parents are not always given the respect they deserve. It’s not until a man goes through the full journey of fatherhood that he realizes how this will affect him. However, if he wants to, he grows up and the whole family prospers. But if it doesn’t grow, everyone suffers. Parents need to be respected, but more than that, they need to stand up when they are not.
Any father worthy of his role knows that coins are mundane, and then there is the eternal. He is willing to change all of the former to save as much of the latter as he can: his daughter’s heart and soul. But he must accept that he has no control over anything he truly lives to appreciate. Still, he is happy. That only choice is yours.
Fatherhood can be the humblest of all human roles given man’s instantaneous propensity for pride. He knows it’s weakness, but he struggles to give up his strength. But, praise God, life will take that earthly strength from him – through fatherhood – and give him something that no one can take away from him.
A father learns the hard way that he must let go. You have no choice. If he doesn’t choose, that choice will be made for him, and that’s a slap in the face on an already swollen cheek.
God ordains fatherhood in the life cycle of man. How else will he achieve the character traits he was meant to acquire from the start? Any man who is not a father will be called into service as a mentor or surrogate father of some sort. All must suffer the humiliation of leadership or lead an unacceptably sheltered life.
There are all kinds of parents, but real parents are kind. His strength is not harsh, and though he may seem weak, he is stronger when it counts. Until then it looks like weakness to anyone with selfishness. The true strength of the father is a complete paradox. It’s never about him alone.
A father knows he “made it” when he’s happy to no longer be at the center of his little girls’ world, happy to “give her away” and give her the permission she needs to go her own way.
Some parents need to know these things, some don’t, and some won’t agree. That’s how it is. So let it be.