Fatherhood-The Perfect Gift--Spoken Word by Lloyd D. Newell

Fatherhood - The Perfect Gift

Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

Most fathers will tell you that becoming a father changes everything. You feel more love, more gratitude, more responsibility, and more desire to do right and be an example to your child. It’s a job that may seem daunting at times. One father said: “I thought I never wanted to be a father. A child seemed to be a series of limitations and responsibilities that offered no reward. But when I experienced the perfection of fatherhood, the rest of the world remade itself before my eyes.” Fatherhood, of course, is not easy or without heartache and worry. The wise father continues: “This is not to say that becoming a father automatically makes you a good father. Fatherhood, like marriage, is a constant struggle against your limitations and self-interests. But the urge to be a perfect father is there, because your child is a perfect gift.”1 Fatherhood has the potential to make you better than you are: more patient and kind, more loving and forgiving, more tender and strong. For every father, there are those rare, precious moments of inexpressible joy when your daughter writes you a note that says, “Dad, thanks for all you’ve done” or your son says that he loves you, that he’s proud to be your son. And then there are days when you feel like a failure, days when you feel like giving up. But you don’t. You stay with it, you hope and pray for strength, and you trust that if you do your best things will work out. Especially on those difficult days of fathering, remember the words “your child is a perfect gift.” The situation may not be perfect right now; your son or daughter may not be perfect now—but neither are you. We’re all changing, hoping, and striving to become better people, and fatherhood—the perfect gift—can help us do that. 1 Kent Nerburn, in Susan Ginsberg, comp., Family Wisdom: The 2,000 Most Important Things Ever Said about Parenting, Children, and Family Life (1996), 85.