The title of father to me is a great job that Heavenly Father has given us to see the things that we can accomplish and the way that our children will look up to us. Now as a father, we are asked to preside over our families. According to David Blankenhorn, the author of Fatherless America, has observed: “Today, American society is fundamentally divided and ambivalent about the fatherhood idea. Some people do not even remember it. Others are offended by it. Others, including more than a few family scholars, neglect it or disdain it. Many others are not especially opposed to it, nor are they especially committed to it. Many people wish we could act on it, but believe that our society simply no longer can or will.”
What does that mean exactly, to preside? In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, it states, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” For myself, this seems like such a big task and I know that I'm not the only one who lies awake at night wondering what the next day will bring and what challenges will face me and my family. I sometimes worry that I won't be able to help my family in every way possible and then I think back to my father and think that if he can do it, then I can do it.
But going along with fatherhood, you need to keep the relationship that you have with your spouse open and communication must be key to making the family work. Another big key is to pray together and invite the Lord and the Holy Ghost into our family dynamic. When the Lord is invited into the family, we are able to let the Lord guide us and our family and keep us away from those things that will harm our families.
Now there are several things that stand out to me as a future father. I want to make sure that I am present, I provide and I protect. Some of these may not sound very helpful, but I want to point out that many youths these days have a hard time growing up without one of their parents being present in the family.
Make sure you are there for everything major that happens in their lives. Make sure you are there for birthdays and holidays, recitals, sporting events and school graduations. These are major milestones in their lives and they want to share these experiences with you. I remember that my dad worked a lot and he wasn't there for a lot of things that happened in my life, but he was there for me when I needed him.
The next is to provide. I understand that this life is hard enough and the thought of having to provide for not only your wife but small human beings is a daunting task. We as human beings have certain needs that have to be met such as food, clothing, and shelter and we have to manage limited resources like time, and energy. It's a struggle and there are days that we wish that we could throw in the towel, but I know my father enjoyed coming home to see us kids and rest from his shift at work.
The last is to protect those that are under our care. All of our relationships require sacrifice on our behalf and I can only imagine what my parents had to give up in order to make sure that us kids had everything that we needed. And I know that they would never tell me what it was that they went without while we were kids.
Being a parent is quite the burden, but having kids and getting to experience all the things that make them happy is worth everything that we go through.
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