A quick search of “what to buy for dad for Father’s Day” pulls up wallets, ties, coffee cups with puns on them, grill utensils, and other odds and ends. Some of these are great gifts for some dads, but you all know the dads in your lives well enough to know that they (we) are all different in their (our) own ways.
I know that my life changed when I held my firstborn in the seconds after he was born. I realized for the first time then how hard the floor was… how easy it would be to trip or stumble… the awe-full responsibility of this little milk-gallon weight gift I held and have watched grow.
I still get to check on my kids while they sleep here, at home, safely. I’m only beginning to imagine a world where they are off being the heroes of their own stories and I can’t just open a door and take a look. I can just love them while they are here.
Laura Newton and Matty Diehl shared a poem to all the Dads:
CELEBRATING FATHERS ON FATHER’S DAY
GOD TOOK THE STRENGTH OF A MOUNTAIN,
THE MAJESTY OF A TREE,
THE WARMTH OF A SUMMER SUN,
THE CALM OF A QUIET SEA,
THE GENEROUS SOUL OF NATURE,
THE COMFORTING ARM OF NIGHT,
THE WISDOM OF THE AGES,
THE POWER OF THE EAGLE’S FLIGHT
THE JOY OF A MORNING IN SPRING,
THE FAITH OF A MUSTARD SEED,
THE PATIENCE OF ETERNITY,
THE DEPTH OF A FAMILY NEED,
THEN GOD COMBINED THESE QUALITIES,
AND THEN THERE WAS NOTHING MORE TO ADD,
HE KNEW HIS MASTERPIECE WAS COMPLETE,
AND SO, HE CALLED IT – DAD.
May God Bless you and keep you in His ways today and always!
To the grads too, those graduating in a time with changed ceremonies, disrupted internships, and cancelled plans, it’s a time of disappointment and unease. The fundamental shape of the society you are graduating into is being unmasked and reshaped before all of our eyes, with new attention paid to racial disparities in policing, hiring, and all spheres of life. This on top of ongoing questions about the viability of our present economic order which seems built to pile the biggest wins in the same pockets while more fall further behind.
It’s enough to make you angry… and afraid… and discouraged… and even lose the God-given spark that makes you great. Hold fast to hope, now, tomorrow, and always. If you’d like, please respond to the questions Laura sent out so we can share your stories and hopes with the church in next week’s newsletter.
For now, church, continue to pray, learn, reach out, and seek ways to connect with God and one another.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Ben
We Can’t Go On Like This