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Hey Dad,

I was talking to my mom yesterday about normal stuff when she asked me, "Do you know the Smith's*?"

I confess that I don't know them well, but I have known them for years. They went to the same high school I attended, were very involved in my home church, had a bunch of kids (eight to be exact), and were just a good, solid, Christian family.

"Yeah, I know who they are," I said.

"Well, I just read in the paper that they've filed for a divorce.".

"Wow," I said quietly.

"It's devastating," she said. I knew she felt it deeply because my mom cares and has invested her life in women, couples, and family.

Today, I find myself feeling heavy about it too. I won't pretend to blame, guilt, or imagine what they felt; all I know is that unless God intervenes they won't be married anymore … and that feels … heavy.

I wonder what they would have thought if someone told them five years ago that in a few years they would file for a divorce. I just know they would have said, "No way! You're wrong. Not a snowball's chance in Miami."

But it happened.

Actually, it reminds me of a small 2x4 that sits near my desk. On it is the name of a song and a singer. I first heard the song ten years ago on the radio as I was sitting in my car. The song played and I was pierced to the heart by the words. Afterwards, I scrambled to find something to write down the information that the DJ gave me and managed to scribble it all down on a 12-inch scrap 2x4.

I hadn't thought about the song in a while but have been ever since my conversation with my mom. The song's refrain is this: "Fifty years from now, what will we remember … if we walk away from this, what will we have missed, fifty years, fifty years from now?"

Sure, being married is hard and sometimes you might even want out. But if you walk out, you miss fifty years of great memories: of Christmas mornings with giggling children, and children who graduate, get married, have children, and then laugh around the table in your golden years. You will miss all those great memories if you give up.

Yes, family and marriage is hard … but it is worth everything. It may take a few years to work out some of the hardships, but in comparison to 50 years of memories, it's nothing.

Maybe if the Smith's had just thought about fifty years from now, things would be different.

So my fellow dad, I don't know what's going through your mind right now, but if you're entertaining the thought of 'getting out,' DON'T … and go listen to the 2x4 song that I posted on our site.

Fifty years from now you'll still be 'da dad,

© 2009 Todd Wilson. Used by permission

* Not the real name

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