Happy Father's Day

I'm seein' my father in me

I guess that's how it's meant to be

And I find I'm more and more like him each day

I notice I walk the way he walks

I notice I talk the way he talks

I'm startin' to see my father in me

And I'm happy to see my father in me

By Diane Forrest

My husband loved to listen to Paul Overstreet every time we went somewhere in the car.  There was one particular song he was fond of, it was called Seeing my Father in Me.  His father was a Baptist Preacher.  He worked hard during the week at Coca Cola Bottling Co. and did many side jobs too. On Sunday's he could be found delivering sermons at his church, and the evenings would find him visiting the sick, and members of his congregation.  My husband was so proud of his father, and wanted to emulate him as much as possible.  I never had the pleasure of meeting this man, but heard many wonderful stories about him, and saw many pictures.  Every time Paul Oversstreets song came on, my husband would ask me if I thought he looked like his dad.  While I didn't see much of a resemblance, I know that he would have been proud of the man my husband had become.

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Today is Father's Day.  It was first celebrated in 1910, as a compliment to Mother's day which was celebrated in May.  In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.  Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.

Father's day hold's the record as the most collect calls made, however with the phone plans available today, collect calls are a thing of the past.  Father's Day has not received the glory that Mother's day had found.  I heard a story once by Jerry Clower, he was a Southern Comedian who visited my church one Sunday.  He was explaining to the congregation the difference between being involved and committed.  To demonstrate his point he used the illustration of breakfast, and the part that the pig and chicken played in preparing the meal. He explained that the chicken was involved with breakfast, it laid the eggs, however the pig was really committed to the breakfast, because it gave its life so that we could have bacon.  That is how most of the world views mothers and fathers.  Some fathers are just involved in the child rearing process.

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I am fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful father; he is smart, funny and admired by many.  He worked long and hard to provide for his family, and we never wanted or needed anything.  His work kept him away from home, birthdays, and special occasions like sporting activities or school events, but his work responsibilities made it possible to provide a roof over our heads and food in our mouths, and clothes on our backs, and it was more important for him to make these sacrifices for our well-being.

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There are many men today who shirk their family responsibilities.  I was reading an article not too long ago about a man, 33 years old, who has 30 children, and was asking the court for help to lower his child support payments.  Some of his children only received a dollar and a half per month.  You can read that story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/desmond-hatchett-30-kids_n_1528850.html

This man is not a father, but a baby making machine.   Any man can make a baby, but it takes a special man to be a father.  My son's father and I separated before he was born.  I worried for many years about the affects it would have on my son.  Luckily, I moved in with my parents, so he was always around my father, then when I remarried, he had a wonderful stepfather to guide him.  I also had him involved in many church activities so he had many male role models surrounding him.   When he turned 16, I asked all the men who had been active in his life to write a letter to him, giving him advice for the future.  I put them all in a book, and he still reads them through from time to time.

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Today is a day to salute all the father's.  If your father was a part of your life, let him know how much you appreciate him.  If your father is no longer in your life, make an important man in your like your honorary father for the day.  It may be a relative, neighbor or friend, but let him know what an important part he plays in your life, and to all the father's out there, and especially to my daddy, Happy Father's Day!!!