Better Dads

The sign of the Lord's return is spelled out in Malachi, the last book of the OT. It says the day of the Lord comes when, "he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers..." The kingdom of heaven is in the restoration of the relationship between fathers and their children.

Today there are so many media influences working against the connection between father and child: like ALL cartoons, for example, that portray the father figure as a big dork. There are so many movies that portray the hard-line, oppressive father juxtaposed with the weak neglected family...like that's normal. And we live with it. It's no wonder that our society is deluded into thinking that it is okay to let the relationship between father and child deteriorate.

And it seems like (in my family, at least) my father was more concerned with himself, his career, his reputation, his fears, his achievement (or lack thereof), that he forgot about his own children somewhere in all that, striving to keep his head above water. And now that his children have grown, they have hence, forgotten about him. And all too often it's easy for men to give away the love they should give to their own children to replacements: their son's-in-law, or step-sons, or some other man's son, rather than to their own.

And why do so many young men grow up unable to maintain a respectful healthy relationship with their own father, choosing to seek out, sometimes, other father figures? What has happened that the father/son relationship in this society has become so broken? Why are men so stubborn that they can't humble themselves, sometimes, in their son's presence? Why are they sometimes impotent to give public praise to their own son - -or even be sensitive to the fact that they should praise their sons more?

Kudos to Rick Johnson for the book, Better Dads, Stronger Sons. The title is pretty self-explanatory. I knew it would be a "how to" book for dads to become, well, better dads. So, I bought it thinking that my husband could use all the help he can get, right?

But what I found in reading it was quite surprising. Instead of reading page by page and saying, “I wish Bryan would do that.” Or, “if only Bryan would be like that.” I found myself saying, “Wow, Bryan does that.” And, “Bryan totally cares like that.” The book was a complete re-affirmation in my belief about what huge obstacles my husband has overcome in defining his role as a father, husband and leader.

I’m not saying Bryan can't use any help because he can. But this book really helped me see and concentrate on how far Bryan has come in his life, how much he cherishes our boys.
So, get it!