"Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, the spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father'. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." - Galatians 4:6-7
This coming Sunday is Father's Day. Unlike Mother's Day, restaurants will not be overflowing with grateful children, treating their fathers. Unfortunately, on fathers' special day, fathers do not get the accolades that mothers get on their special day. Notwithstanding that, fathers, too, are special people. What joy it is to scan the archives of our mind and recall positive experiences. Yes, positive experiences about our dads.
Being a dad is much more than biology. It is sharing oneself with one's children and leaving them with lasting and positive memories. Yes, memories which they can cherish.
I can recall such memories about my dad. When I was in my middle teens, I was studying for my Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) exams. My father gave me a challenge. He promised that if I passed my BJC exams, he would buy me a bicycle.
I passed all of my BJC exams and I held my father to his promise. He kept his promise. Several days later he came home with a brand new bicycle and presented it to me.
Things were tough during those years. Many people in The Bahamas, even though they had work, were struggling. I don't know what sacrifices he made to purchase that bicycle for me. At the time, I did not have a full appreciation for what he did. Now, in retrospect, I do.
On another occasion he gave me an experience that is indelible in my memory. Some months after I had passed my BJC exams, I was given the opportunity to attend high school in Nassau.
My dad did not have the available funds to send me to high school, but he was determined that I would leave Abaco and attend school in Nassau. To achieve this, he had to find someone to lend him the money.
During the 1960s banks, particularly in Abaco, were not accommodating to people like my dad. For this reason, he had to find someone within the community or a relative to lend him the money.
Consequently, he and I spent a whole day going from one community to another seeking to find a family member to lend him the money he needed to send me to high school in Nassau. He got the money and I made it to Nassau.
My dad was not a man to speak of his love in words. Yet, the evidence of his love was spoken in the sacrifices that he made for me.
I was not the only child. There were eight more of us at home for whom he had to care.
These are just a few positive memories about my father that live on with me.
Because of his love and concern for me, I have learned the importance of imparting such love to my children. His sacrifices and love are his legacy, which I have shared with my children.
Through the years, my dad had made many other sacrifices for me. It is because of his sacrifice that I am who I am today.
Family is important and our children are blessings from God. Therefore, fathers nurture your children. Be the father that God wants you to be. Maybe one day they too will share positive memories about how you loved them. Amen.
o Reverend Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas, or telephone 426-9084; E-mail: lutheranchurch@coralwave.com.
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