A Good Man

Well, here it is, an official Father's Day post. Father's Day is a strange sort of holiday for me as my own father worked away from home from May through September for the majority of my growing up years. Consequently, Father's Day was sort of sad and my only real memory of it is packing up an empty orange juice concentrate can/pencil holder and sending it off into the wilds of the Canadian North. These were the days before phone plans and the Internet; thus, I never knew if these gifts reached their destinations and I still wonder what became of my juicy pencil holder.

But now, there sit in my top drawer two Father's day gifts - one of the boy variety and one of the girl sort- both crafted at school under the guidance of the SK teacher and both eagerly awaiting Sunday morning. Hannah's is so impossibly bound by clear tape that I have no idea what is inside except that somewhere within all that stickiness there is a picture of Dave wearing Hannah strapped to his chest in a Snugli at the tender age of 3 months. I know this because I sent the photo in as a response to a teacher request found in the depths of said girl's backpack. Jacob's is slightly more decipherable - it is a poem asking all dads to slow down so that their little boys can follow in their footsteps. On either side of the poem is one of Jacob's footprints indelibly marked in blue paint. (God bless their teacher.) The poem made me cry.

It also reminded me of a theme that God has been speaking to me lately: my husband, quite simply, is a good man - a very good man. Yes, you might say, that is obvious. However, goodness is a quality of such humility that it is often overlooked and undervalued - much like my husband. And, like my dearest Dave, goodness is rare.

I watched The Painted Veil the other night. (While Dave was away I rented two movies - The Painted Veil and The Muppet's Wizard of Oz. The second was for the kids and they never made it through as they were petrified from the get go and in Hannah's words, "I'm glad our Wizard of God isn't like that!") Anyway, I highly recommend the first movie - it is incredibly affirming of marriage and fidelity and the cinematography is quite beautiful. The main female character, Kitty, marries for many reasons none of which are love. Unfortunately this lack of love leads to her own infidelity and the breakdown of her marriage. In steps a cholera epidemic in the depths of China (in 1925) to which her husband, a bacteriologist, volunteers his services. Kitty accompanies him and thus begins the restoration of their marriage. I mention this because at one point in the film Kitty says, "What woman ever loved a man because he was good?" This gave me pause.

I don't think that I fell in love with Dave just because he was good. There were plenty of other reasons. However, as marriage marches on; our family continues to grow; bodies grow tired; and nerves wear thin, I realise that I love my Dave because he is good. What better example could I have for my three boys to imitate and for my one girl to witness? For 7 years now I have prayed for my children - for a variety of intentions but most of all that they would come to know God and hear His call in their life. Lately, I have heard a small voice telling me that my prayers need not be lengthy or involved. Instead, and especially for my sons, I can pray one prayer that pretty much covers it all, "Dear Lord, let each of our sons grow to be like his father - a good and holy man." I think I will stick with that.

Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Dad,
For I must follow you.

(Affectionately stolen from Jacob's SK Father's Day craft; used without permission.)