Father's Day Favorites

One of my all-time favorite individual comic strips was a strip years ago from "Rose is Rose." Jimbo, the husband/father in the strip, was musing about how the family would stay up late on Fathers' Day eve, watching the celebration in Times Square, then get up the next morning to enjoy parades, a big dinner, and football games. When informed that Fathers' Day wasn't celebrated in that manner, he replied, "Well, it should be!"

The favorite Fathers Day gift I ever received was a few years ago. At the beginning of June, I told all of my kids, kids-in-law, etc., that the only Fathers' Day gift I wanted was for each member of the family to read through the Book of Proverbs (in the Bible), one chapter a day, for the month of June. Nothing else, no physical presents on the actual day, I insisted, just read the Book of Proverbs.

When they said something akin to "That's dumb, what kind of a present is that?" (only they said it much nicer), I pointed out two facts from the Book of Proverbs itself:

1. Wisdom is to be gained from the reading of the Book of Proverbs (Prov. 1 & 2), and
2. A wise son will bring joy to his father (Prov. 15:20).

What could be a more appropriate gift for a father on Fathers' Day than that, I asked? My family gave me that present that year, and it remains one of the most cherished gifts I have ever received on any occasion. On Father's Day, we all got together and talked about things we had learned from reading the Book that month.

I will testify to the veracity that a wise son (or daughter) brings joy to a father. I am proud of the adults my children have grown into, though it would be wrong for me to claim credit for their spiritual or temporal success. I've just been a simple gardener in God's garden where He brings the growth, but it has been and is a delight and a joy.

Happy Fathers' Day (by the way, is it Father's Day or Fathers' Day, singular or plural) to all!