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Hey Dad,

You might think by the title of this week's Familyman that I think my kids will treat me like God on Father's Day … yeah, right. They just don't seem to get the magnitude of Father's Day. In fact, yesterday, my daughter, Katherine (9), was talking about doing something special and thoughtful for her grandpa for Father's Day.

"Katherine," I said defensively, "he's not YOUR father … you're supposed to do something neat like that for YOUR father … that's ME."

She looked at me rather startled by the realization and said, "I'm not going to do all that for you."

Little darling.

So, when I titled this week's Familyman "Feeling Like God on Father's Day," I was certainly not talking about how they treat me but about how I FEEL about being their dad.

You see, my friend Rudy sent me a couple of instrumental CDs this week. I was excited to hear them and had them in the CD player a few minutes after receiving them. While they were queuing up, I got Maggie (2) up from her nap, made my way to the family room, slipped into the rocking chair, and held my little girl tightly on my lap.

She sat dazed, recovering from her deep sleep. Her flyaway hair tickled my chin as the music from the new CD played, swelling with emotion.

As I listened, the emotion of being in love with my daughter covered me like a gentle wave. Thoughts of gratitude and thankfulness filled my heart and a lump grew in my throat. Man, I felt so glad to be the dad of my children. I may blow my cool from time to time, and they do get to me every once in a while … but I felt so in love at that moment.

Later as I pondered what happened in that chair with the music, I wondered if God ever feels that way about His children … about me. Does He ever get a lump in His throat and feel overwhelming love for you and me?

The answer most certainly is YES. I know we disappoint him, ignore him, and act ugly sometimes. But I would just about bet that He still gets a lump thinking about you and me. He must love being our Father.

That's what Father's Day is all about—not that our children honor us, but that we remember the great honor of being their dad.

So, Dad, put on some special music, hold one of your children on your lap (if you still can), and REMEMBER how much you love them … and how much HE loves you.

Happy Father's Day
You 'da dad,

© 2006 Todd Wilson. Used by permission.

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