The Father’s Day Gift of Grace

2 Corinthians 12:9  “ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

I would like to wish all the Dad’s that read this post a Happy Father’s Day.  Even though it did not become a national holiday until 58 years after Mother’s Day, it is still a great day for the family.  The grills will be fired up and children across America will be getting together to celebrate their Dads.  Hand made gifts will be given out, bad cologne and ugly ties (do kids still give Dads ties?) will be accepted with a smiles and thank yous.   I have on my desk a pencil holder that my 36 year old son made me several years ago out of a can and construction paper.  It is right next to a picture of him and his 19 month old son that he sent me for this Father’s day.  I still have rocks that my boys have colored and painted when they were young, to a grill that I will put to use today.  The gifts have changed over the years, but each one is special.

The best gifts however, are the memories I have from raising my sons as children, to today as they are adults raising our grandchildren.  God has blessed us with a very strong and loving family.  When we get together there are usually lots of laughs and even a few tears.  But, there is always the deep love and care we have for one another, and that is the greatest gift I could ever receive as a dad.

This strong family atmosphere didn’t just happen.  It is a gift given to us by our loving Heavenly Father.  You see, there is an instruction manual for raising children, it’s called the Bible.  It is a wonderful book.  The principles contained within it’s pages, if put into practice, really do work.  Don’t get me wrong, our family is not perfect, we all have issues that we need to work through.  But, as we seek to put the Lord first, He gives us His blessing.

Outside of our salvation, I believe that the greatest gift the Lord gave our family is our youngest son Johnny.  I thank the Lord for all three of my sons, they are each different and are a blessing, they have each added to the strength of our family.  However, God brought Johnny into our family to teach us all how to love.  Johnny had many special needs that we as a family needed to deal with for over twenty eight years.  But, it was through caring for those needs that we gained a greater capacity for love.  He enhanced our family as a whole by his ever present sense of humor and the sweet spirit he exhibited (well, most of the time.)

Being the father of a child with special needs can be very challenging.  Between: hospitalizations, doctors appointments, managing medications and raising other children, life can get very stressful.  I thank the Lord for my wife, truth is, she managed most of those challenges.  However, over time we became a team, a great team!

I want to encourage any dad’s of children with special needs today.  You are doing God’s work.  Moms please understand that I appreciate all that you do.  I just want to acknowledge all the work that these special father’s do this Father’s Day.  In families that have a child with special needs there is a special type of stress that is placed upon the parents.  They must navigate all the needs of their child, while all along deal with the same stress that every other family deals with.  The car still breaks down, the bills still pile up, the siblings have their needs… Their is no special “Immunity” from life’s every day problems because you have a child that requires more attention.

Those of you that may know a caregiver of a child or even an aging parent, please consider how you may be a blessing to them.  They could use a break, even long enough to go out for a dinner once in a while.  You will never fully understand what your friends or family members are going through, but trying to be a help will be appreciated more than you will ever know.

Happy Father’s Day, to all that it applies to, that are reading this post (well, I guess if you’re not reading this you won’t get it).  But, I want to say a special Happy Father’s Day to the Dad’s of children with  special needs.  Thank you for doing the Lord’s work.  He has given you a gift in your home.  Please take time to see how blessed you are.  When you are dealing with the overwhelming situations, please remember His grace is sufficient.