Father's Day

Is an interesting national observance, certainly more potentially meaningful than many of the Hallmark-initiated days we have each year. It always gives me pause, some to reflect on what kind of relationship my father and I had (or didn't have), but mostly on what I coulda/woulda/shoulda done differently with my own children and now my grandchildren. I wish I had been more stable, more available, more loving, more considerate, more wise, more, more, more...
While I know that my best standard to emulate is Father God, He does a lot of things I still don't understand well, so I'm sure that could get off track pretty easily too. I do know that before I had the gift of children and grandchildren, I had no clue what genuine love was. I've been learning more what it is ever since my son took his first breath thirtysome years ago, and it gotten clearer each day since. Love gets you up from the Lazyboy to play catch, helps you stay awake until your daughter gets home, gets you on your knees when your grandchild is sick or hurting, reminds you of your vows when you reach 40, warms your heart when you read that handmade letter or glance at the stick figure hanging on your office wall. I've come to realize my favorite "job" in my life is being a dad. Quaint but true, and I hope at least it's a little Practically Christian, too.