Being A Dad

Time is not a replaceable commodity. You can go earn more money, but you cannot go earn more time. Love is best spelled: t-i-m-e.

You know what it feels like to be in the room with others and still be lonely. When it comes to kids, they know when someone is really “with them.” More than ever, with mobile technology, it’s harder to capture their attention, too. We need to be intentional about spending time together with those we love. Specifically, our kids won’t forget the effort we make to be with them.

On a Friday morning I departed Orlando for Atlanta, for a weekend full of events. Originally, I was scheduled to fly to Nashville to meet up with my son (who is in college), as we’d planned for him to join me for my weekend speaking engagements and to celebrate his birthday, too. Unfortunately, he got sick and was not going to be able to travel with me. I knew I had to do whatever it was going to take to see Luc. So, around noon on Saturday, I began the four-hour drive to see my son. I picked him up around 4:00 p.m. and we were able to go out for dinner and celebrate his birthday. But, of utmost importance was just seeing him and giving him a big hug. While he felt only a bit better, the face to face time was just what we needed. We said our goodbyes around 8:00 p.m. and I finally arrived at my hotel in Anderson, SC, at 2:30 a.m. Some would think that ten hours of driving was too much just to share dinner together, but as a dad, I was willing to do whatever it took to see my son.

Being a parent is a blessing. Being a dad is a gift. “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3 (NLT) Today, I want to encourage dads to be their child’s greatest fans. See their God-given potential. I pray you take your fatherhood a step further and seek to serve those who are fatherless. For most of my adult life, I have reflected on the purpose and meaning of this Scripture, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.” (Psalm 68:5) Due to our mission, we are uniquely placed in the role of being a father to the fatherless. 

A home without a father is a place where there is a missing piece of leadership both for the home and for the heart. Spiritual leadership is needed in the lives of our children. My heart breaks for single parent homes, and I pray God sends other Godly, spiritual leaders to pour into the lives of the children of those homes. God uses us to be advocates of truth and hope for children without dads. 

I leave you with a reflection of my father. My earliest memory with my father is walking together in the garden with him and picking string beans at our home on Campground Road in West Boylston, Massachusetts. We lived there until I was five years old. Dads, are you walking with your children? Spending time together with them? Please do. Time together matters. ~Tim DeTellis