Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Father Wound

Happy Father's day to all those men who find it important to be there for others. The role of a father in society is so imperative to the health of our young.

Today at Mass, we heard from a priest who was visiting from a nearby Catholic High School. His message was about how divided we are as a people in our society. We are divided by our skin color, the amount of money in our pocket, and our gender. How true that is. He works with our young and has been in Texas working with the inner city gangs for years prior to being Birmingham. He told us about the common thread that ran through every person that was considered an "At risk" person, which means a person that is unable to relate in the adult world appropriately. The common thread is what he called the "Father wound." These are people that had fathers who were abusive, absent, alcoholics, drug addicts, etc. It only shows how important fathers are. Fathers could help with the polarization of our society by their examples and mere presence.

So, thank you for those dads who are there. For those who haven't been there, don't give up, there is forgiveness, and there is a chance to start over. The message today is, start over, begin again, it is a new day. Grab that child, that young adult and love them, hang with them, and don't let another day go by without being the responsible, compassionate, caring, "I'm here for you" person you and they need you to be.

My knight-in-shining-armour is the best father our 3 children could have ever had. We are blessed with his presence because he had an amazing father himself. His father is with Jesus now, but his legacy is felt each and every day in home.

Thank you, Chet, I love and miss you!

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