Keeping pace as a father with our faith, family, work and mission can be a daunting challenge. Add to this self-inflicted pressure of trying to be the best in each pillar and then secretly knowing you’re failing at all of them at the same time, can leave us feeling like a failure. This is the pressure cooker of life that we as fathers walk in.
It is not for the faint of heart.
Let’s look this week at our children. In this world…this day that we live in…our families, our children are subjected to so many things that were not even on our radar when we were children. The picture can start to look pretty bleak when you stand back and look at the world today. Our families are being stretched by their schedules, social media, family and friends. It makes a father want to grab each person in our family hold them close, hoping that time will stop even for a moment. It would be incredible if at this point, we (fathers) could express our sorrows and joys of parenting, marriage, life, family and how we are making it all work in this world.
But reality of actually verbalizing those statements would only put a spotlight on all of our weaknesses. This gives way to fear of being exposed as a failure or as a man not knowing which way to move things forward. It would cause us to be all too real. What would each person in our life think of us then. Would our wives see us as strong? Would our kids still look at us as the oak tree we are supposed to be? Would our friends even want to be friends?
Whoa Cowboy!
Before we get wrapped up in the negative lies that Satan wants us to believe, let me ask you to return your thoughts back to the promises that God gives us in the Bible. “Be strong and courageous”, “Stand Firm”, “You are my beloved”, “I will lead you to lie down in green pastures”… God is for you and He has come that we can live life with a capital ‘L’! Stop living small is a phrase that has been on my heart and one that we need to repeat to ourselves on a daily basis. If we serve the God who created the universe, we have what it takes to be everything he calls us to be.
Circling back to our kids, it becomes imperative that Dads engage in very specific areas to help our kids move forward in the world so that they too can live Life with a capital ‘L’:
Dad’s need to be more vigilant then ever before regarding this world and the attacks of Satan
Dad's need to be demonstrate the value of living intentionally and balancing the demands of the world
Dad's set the pace and the viewpoint that our children will take of this world, they will observe and follow your lead
Elevating our attitudes and efforts will require not just a tweak to our systems, it will require a full reboot.
Enter Dad 2.0.
Dad 2.0 is demonstrating a life lived fully alive. Alive in Christ, Alive in the world, Alive in our families and Alive in our jobs and missions.
Look for the next post around Exponential Fatherhood as I continue this discussion.
See you on the trial!