Colossians 3:20-21 21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
The officially recognized date of Father’s Day varies from country to country. In the U.S. the credit for the modern holiday is always given to Sonora Dodd, born in Arkansas. Its first celebration was in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who reared his six children in Spokane, Washington. After hearing a sermon about Mother’s Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them.
Being a father is a privilege and a great blessing from God — most of us did not begin our parenting lives with an instruction book so; we made mistakes and by the Grace of God along the way; we love and teach our children the way they should live. We want the best for our children; we invest in their lives, we seek to protect them, keep them safe, lead by example and, work hard to provide for them. Dads are not perfect but, those who get on their knees and pray with and, for their children do so because they know that they cannot do it alone.
In the U.S. our statistics are not good. On this father’s day it is my prayer that God will continue to strengthen those who are training and loving their children, for healing and restoration for the many children who have been affected by the absence of a dad and, for the reconciliation of broken relationships between scores of dads and children who are struggling. Here’s why:
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. (Source: U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census).
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes. (Source: Center for Disease Control).
80% of rapist motivated by displaced anger comes from fatherless homes. (Source: Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14, pp. 403-26).
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. (Source: National Principals Assoc. Report on the State of High Schools).
85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. (Source: Fulton County Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. Of Corrections, 1992).
Our nation (the U.S.) cannot survive without dads and a strong generation of children… If you read this blog; leave a comment to bless a dad!