Dear Fathers, You Are So Important

My first picture (outside the belly) with dad.

To all the dads (and future dads) out there,

Do not underestimate the importance of your role—especially in the lives of your daughters. 

We need you. We value you. We appreciate and hunger for the heavenly calling with which you’ve been entrusted. And often we look to you to see God. You are our earthly example of a heavenly Reality.

Let me say it again: you are so needed.

As you cling to the best Father the world has ever known and make it your goal to lead your families deeper into His heart than your own, you will lead them well, the Gospel will be displayed and Jesus will be glorified.

Thank you for investing your heart and pouring the Gospel into your families.

Early in life, he instilled within us a massive importance for dental hygiene.

In 2012 I wrote a Father’s Day letter to all the dad’s of my True Beauty girls.

Today is my dad’s 61st birthday and it seemed appropriate to post this in his honor.

I am seriously the most blessed girl to have the God of the universe as my heavenly Father and the greatest earthly father to constantly point me to Him. 

Happy birthday, daddy. I love you the most and the best.

Happy birthday to the man who wasn’t afraid to set aside his macho-ness to cuddle his little girl and her baby doll. #justlikeJesus

Dear Fathers,  

Happy Father’s Day! As you celebrate this special day with your families, I want to share with you some ways my dad impacted my life through his tremendous role as father.

My dad radically shaped the person I am today by his character, heart for God and the way he lived out his faith every day, in both the good and hard times. He was (and is) masculine, tough, extremely driven, and manly, which gave me an amazing example of a man to follow. But he also learned over the years that my mom, sister and I are wired differently than him and need not only his masculine qualities but also his tender, affectionate, loving understanding of our wiring and how it’s different from his.

I am grateful the Lord has given me such an awesome earthly dad, one who has pointed me to our heavenly Father over and over and over my entire life. I’m thankful he took me on dates, got into my world (even when I acted like I didn’t want him there), and didn’t let me brush him off. His love drove him to persistently pursue time with me and caused him to get involved in what I cared about, even when I acted indifferent toward his involvement. This is something that impacts my life to this day.

As far back as I can remember he has been the spiritual leader of our household and has asked me the hard, sometimes uncomfortable, questions regarding spiritual things, boys and everything in between. He didn’t expect I would always initiate conversation and never assumed when I didn’t open up there was nothing to say, but rather gently prodded until he got to the bottom of whatever was troubling me. I now see that he loved me more than his own comfort and so desired the best for me that he would dive into the hard conversations even if it was painful or awkward.

To this day, the trust we built through those times and the example of love he showed as he sacrificed selfish ambitions to pour into me greatly affects our relationship. He loved me enough to moderate my clothing, praising me when I got it right and giving me compliments so I didn’t depend on boys to do so. And when I didn’t get my clothing choices right, he suggested another option. I hated that. I thought I looked fine, I didn’t understand what was wrong, because it was how “everyone” was dressing. But because my dad wanted the best for me, he told me no. Now that I’m older I understand the gravity of modesty and how it can negatively affect so many people, especially my brothers in Christ and males in general, and I’m beyond thankful he didn’t allow me to be a stumbling block for anyone.

Dad not only moderated my clothing, but my relationships, activities, music and movies. He told me no and did what he said, all the while proving he could be trusted. I can’t thank him enough for telling me no. Man, I had a skewed view of what was good.

I know I’ve posted this photo before but it’s my favorite.

He had family devotions with us and showed us where his (and our) strength lies. He didn’t act like he had it all together, but showed us that God does. He showed by example what repentance looks like, how God says a husband should love his wife, and how a man should lead his family. He constantly prayed in front of and with us and built us up without neglecting the hard questions and conversations.

He was (and is) my spiritual counselor, friend, disciplinarian, and biggest fan. He is firm, loving, hilarious, protective and defends our family against the enemy of our souls. He didn’t leave this job for someone else, he didn’t make excuses, but invested in our family, taught us the Bible and showed me what a godly man looks like. And I can now look for these qualities in a future husband. Through taking me out on dates as well as loving and serving my mom, sister and I, my dad set a precedent of how a gentleman should treat a lady and a level of expectation for the conduct of boys.

He let the love of God compel him to set an example of godliness and a pursuit of holiness and it continues to impact me. He encouraged me, wrote me letters (still does), asked my opinion and guarded my heart when I didn’t even understand what that meant or how serious it was. He took me on adventures, taught me how to defend myself, change a tire, make the best banana splits, chop wood, start a fire, and properly identify tools, and was a display of integrity, courage and honor that is quick to repent, forgive and listen.

He taught me to laugh (at myself).

I can honestly say that without my dad, I don’t know where I would be. He is my hero, my example and one of my best friends. Words fail me when I try to put into words how thankful I am God gave me the dad I have and for the way he and my mom raised me.

I am so thankful for the example he has set for me, and as a daughter I want to encourage you with the reminder that you are one of the single most important influences in your daughter’s life. The things you do with her now really do make a difference, so don’t give up or lose heart. Thank you for entrusting your daughter to me in True Beauty, it is an honor I do not take lightly.

Happy Father’s Day.

Sophie