A Man's Man

I remember my father when I was a child. He was a large statue of a man, not tall like Lincoln but more "rounded" like a linebacker. He was well respected in the community and on the job site. His word was his bond. If he told you he would do something, consider it done.

He coached Little League Baseball and helped with the Boy Scouts. He mowed his lawn every other weekend and never let us kids see any weakness in him at all. He always went away in the morning and came home at the same time every night. He set at the head of the table and our table was always full of different courses of food. We as children never new that times were rough because our father would never let on that anything was ever wrong.

He was like the father of Psalm 103:13 that says "...a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." We feared our father but it was a healthy fear. A fear that knew that if we did wrong he was quick to correct and when we did right, he was right there to offer a warm hug of approval.

He was, indeed, a "Man's man" and today if we as father's were referred to as a "Man's man" I'm not really sure what that would mean. I have tried over the years to be a "giant" of a man to my children; hopefully I have fulfilled most of those traits.

I remember that day in June as I sat next to my father's bed. It was 4:08am when he finally opened his eyes, took a deep breath with his "frail little body" and breathed his last breath. All of 90 pounds from the disease that eat him up, he still looked to me like that giant of a man, that Man's man that everyone he knew had a great deal of respect and admiration for.

I think of the first of the Ten Commandments with a promise. It is the 5th commandment in Exodus 20:12. It says, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you." I have always tried to honor my parents and I have always tried to be a good father to my children.

There are a lot of father's in today's society that do not get the respect and love that a child needs to have for his father. And there are also a lot of father's like my dad, who raised their kids with dignity and honor and they get laughed at behind their backs because of the lack of respect of some of today's children. Someday I hope my children will be able to look into their past and remember their father; A Man's man.

Dave