Mountain View - The House That Smiles By Ed Tandy McGlasson
Writer Author Church On The Mountain
Christian Article
:
Encouragement
- Fiction No
I read an article this week on Google Answers from a young girl who asked: “Does my dad like me? And what can I do?” She writes, “I’m really confused about my dad. I’m not even sure if he likes me. He always talks about the kids he teaches kayaking to and forgets about me. And if I ask him to take me kayaking, he always thinks up of some lame excuse of why he can’t. A few days ago he even said that he “didn’t want me”, and that I am only around because my mum was getting older and she insisted that they were to have a kid then or never. I can never remember him spending any time with me when I was little and he is always at work. I am an only child and I have no idea who to talk to. What can I do?”
How many young people today feel this way? How many of you still feel stuck with questions that your own dad didn’t answer in your life?
Here is the answer that one reader gave, “Just try to get through your adolescence as best as you can. When he gets really old, he will want you to keep him company and be nice to him. Then you can ignore him and treat him the way he treats you.” Great advice, huh!
How many of you have messed up parenting your own kids? I did! I struggled being a good dad because I didn’t know what to do. Did you know that men repeat the same patterns our broken dads used on us?
For years, I did the same things I learned from my stepfather and made my parenting more on what was broken in my kids rather than building a home where my smile resides. I forgot what they wanted most from me was not just my love, but the clear communication of “liking” them. I know that you love your kids, but do you like them?
This past year while doing a breakout session with young people, I asked them to raise their hands if their parents liked them. Not a hand went up in the room. One young man burst into tears, and said, “I know my dad says he loves me, but he never says he likes anything about me. No matter how hard I try, I will never be good enough.”
Have you ever seen the miracle of a dad who becomes a grandfather? It is truly of one of greatest wonders of the world. The same man, who constantly pushed me, changes into another person when his grandkids walk into the room. Have you ever wondered why that happens? What is the goal of most dads? Performance! Right?
What is goal of most Grandpas? Relationship. The same guy who would lecture me about how hard he worked for his money, opens his pockets with reckless abandon when his sweet and perfect grandson walks into the room. I think God gave us grandfathers as a gift to say, “Why don’t you grandfather first.”
What is the atmosphere like in your home? If your children do not think you like them, then it is almost impossible for them to feel your love. On the weekend of July 30th at the Church on the Mountain in Crowley lakes, we are doing a conference called “The Power of the Blessing of a Father.” How many of you are stuck and unable to move forward because of the lack of love and blessing from your own father? Our hope is that this weekend might change your story and put a smile back on your home. If God can change this old football player into a loving husband and father, then there is hope for all of mankind.
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
State:
California
Country:
United States
Email:
Paulafriedrichsen@live.com
Website:
www.churchonthemountain.org
Profile:
Click here!
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