Have a Meaningful Father's Day!

Father's Day is here again.  How will it be for you?  OK, it all depends on the health status and location of your father and your health status and location.  If your father is deceased at an old age after a joyous life, you may intend to honor and remember his life forever.  If deceased prematurely, you may still be mourning from the intense sense of loss.  Either way you may be called fatherless.

If your father is living and you're having a huge outing with happiness and celebration and piles of unique family specially prepared foods from the family cookbook, you may be pretty content.  If your father is serving a life sentence in prison for a brutal murder which he confessed to and for which he shows nor has any remorse, Father's Day may be annoying and disheartening.

We all have a father.  Not so fast, you may say, be mindful that there are many types of father, "My step-father is the only one I've ever known." or "My parents were divorced when I was very young, both my biological father and my step father have been great dads and role models for life." or "My biological father was a total loser who drank and beat my mother to death.  My adoptive father is the most loving man on earth."  So "father" has a lot of variations  which may be expanding as our society gets more creative.

God helped us out with understanding the meaning of Father at the highest level.  The Bible is also replete with father figures, many of whom abounded with flaws, freeing modern fathers from expectations of perfection.   Moses and Joseph had special father situations among others, validating the variability of father-child configurations and relationships over the centuries.

 God sets the standard for the relationship starting with:  "Honor thy Father and thy Mother."

How might we enjoy Father's Day as we allow ourselves to reflect on the meaning of father in our lives.  How do we honor our earthly father or the "concept" of father for those who quest for a fatherly anchor in their lives?  How do we spread the word about fathers to others who need to know?  How do we tell the stories that allow the honoring and spreading of the word?

One act at a time.  One honor at a time.  One father at a time.  One story at a time.  Fathers teach others about the meaning and value of fathers.  Many others will do likewise.  Spread the word, folks.  Fathers matter.