Blessings in life come in different variations.  One would consider good health, happy life, family and a good career as blessings in this life. A blessing I’m most thankful for is that of being a father. Fatherhood has brought many joys to my life. There is no better feeling I’ve had than being in the presence of my children. It is truly a gift from God to have children in a person’s lifetime. I discovered long ago that being a father is not a role some men accept. Unfortunately, absentee fathers is a huge problem in our society today.

According to the US Census Bureau in a 2015 report 23.6% of US children (17.4 million) lived in father absent homes in 2014[1]. As a child from a fatherless home these statistics are disheartening. The ones who pay the biggest price for this parental abandonment are the children. These children will face obstacles in life that other children with active fathers will never understand. An example of this is that homes with no father present has a poverty rate of 47.6%.[2] However, I can attest that children with no father present has a survivor mentality that can propel us to great accomplishments in life if we maintain our focus on the correct goal.

This goal for me was to simply be active in my children’s lives. I refused to allow my fathers failing, as a responsible parent, to dictate how I lived my life. No matter what is going on with outside factors, I strive to be at my children’s functions, activities and recognition events. Your children need to know that they are more important to you as a parent than going on guys night out or catching a ballgame with your buddies. This also motivated me to accomplish objectives that would set a better example for my children to follow. One of the objectives was to be an example of the pursuit of higher education. Through hard work and dedication to this goal I did obtain my Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 2015.

The other purpose of this post is to share a principle that involves the community approach to confront this problem we face. According to scripture we are all responsible for our communities success and failures with those less fortunate. As it says in Deuteronomy 14:29 “so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”  As a child I was fortunate to have three wonderful men step in to help be a father figure to me. These men were my grandfather and two uncles. These three men didn’t have to contribute their time and energy to me and my siblings. They chose to do this because of the shared responsibility of our community. 

This Fathers Day I ask that we all look for ways to step in and help fill a void in a child’s life that may be lacking a parental figure. Additionally, all you dads out there who are active fathers I say thank you and God bless you. You fill a great need and responsibility in our society by shaping the generation of tomorrow. Your children need your love and attention no matter what obstacles you have to overcome to provide for them.

The best gift you can give to your greatest blessing, your children, is the time you spend with them.

ACR

1]US Census Bureau, 2015] Living arrangements of children under 18 years and marital status of parents, by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin and selected characteristics of the child for all children: 2014. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau.

2]Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2012). Information on poverty and income statistics: A summary of 2012 current population survey data. Retrieved from: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/12/PovertyAndIncomeEst/ib.cfm.