How to be a Great Dad

            How did I learn to be a dad and husband? Like many of you, I learned from the example of my own father. While he did the best he knew how, my dad wasn’t exactly a great role model. The job he had to provide for us was as a long-distance truck driver.  As a result, he was gone more often than he was home, which was fine with me.  I didn’t mind his absence because when he was home, he didn’t talk much and when he did, it was usually a request to get him a beer from the fridge, to change the channel (yes, I’m that old) or to be quiet because he was trying to sleep off the uppers he’d taken for 5 days to stay awake while driving. That was my picture of a dad as a child and teenager. 

            While I knew his example wasn’t what I wanted to follow when I had children of my own, it took me getting married and having children before I could figure out how to be the husband and father God wanted me to be and that I wanted to be. Isn’t that the way it usually goes? Fast forward a few years and my wife and I now have 4 children! So I needed to learn all these things on the job and not mess up! How did I do that? Thankfully, we were attending a church where Growing Kids God’s Way classes were being offered. What a blessing! The idea that God our Father has shown us His way to be a father through Scripture: to love, to show love in our responses to our children’s disobedience, to be firm but kind in our expectations of them, to speak words of life to them with authority and kindness:

·      “What did you do that was wrong?” 

·      “Why was it wrong?” 

·      “What can you do to make this right?”

I was given the wisdom of Scripture and the practical instruction provided in the Growing Kids classes, along with real-life examples of godly dads.  Combined, these helped me (hopefully) become the man God wanted me to be for my children. 

            The greatest blessing has been to witness our adult children parent their children and see the results in the character and loving hearts of our grandchildren. Dads (and moms) be encouraged: through the wisdom God provides, you can be the one who changes the trajectory and legacy of your family. 

Lance St. Clair lives in TN with his wife Susan (married 37 years) along with their one-year-old Bichon, Lucy. Their 4 children, now all married, have provided Lance & Susan with 11 grandchildren to enjoy.