Although mothers are the first parent a child comes in contact with because of the 9-month connection, fathers are special and very important, too. It is very important to have a relationship with your father, whether you are a boy or girl.

It seems to be a myth that the men should give guidance to the boys and not the girls and vice versa for the mother, but that is not true.

We fail to realize that one day, boy will meet girl and girl will meet boy.

With girls, the first man in their lives is their fathers. From her father, she will learn many things at an early age. She will learn that her father is a gentleman, a protector/hero, her knight in shining armor and a breadwinner.

She finds out that he is a gentleman by the way he treats her mother by opening doors, pulling chairs out and letting her go into doors first. She will learn that he is a protector and hero because he always looks out for the family’s safety.

She’ll notice that when the family is threatened by outsiders, her father takes charge.

She will notice that he is her knight in shining armor when she falls off the bike, while learning to ride it for the first time, and he runs over and picks her up from off the ground and wipes her tears away. She will know that he is a breadwinner when he maintains a job and financially keep the household in order.

She will also learn how a man is to respect his woman by the way he respects her mom. From her father, she will learn that she is special when he gives her the best party of her life on her 16th birthday.

Although it seems that fathers easily adapts to boys because they were once one, they still have to work hard to teach that boy to be the best man that he can be when he is grown.

What he teaches his son would vary some, but he still needs to teach his daughter a thing or two also. Although the father may throw in a few manly things that he has only for his son, he still portrays life to his children, whether they are boys or girls. He carries on a relationship with his children that they will always remember.

Just as we have a relationship with our earthly father, we also need one with our heavenly Father (God). Our heavenly Father has an advantage over our earthly father because it is said in his word (the Bible) that he sits high and looks low.

So, just as our earthly father looks after his children, what more so do we expect our heavenly Father to do. Our relationship must not just start with the father; but remain with the Father (God) for a lifetime. “Happy Father’s Day”

 

Beverly Gibson is a Ferriday resident.