Sometimes love doesn’t look like we expect. But maybe that’s the beauty of it. I’ve learned the best love wears scars, and those scars tell a story. A story of failure, pain, and losses; but those scars also speak of courage, resiliency and transformation. But you can only hear that story when love stands tall.
Today many men will be celebrated for being dads; children of all ages will seek to honor their dads in many ways. Still, there will be some dads who spend the day alone, or maybe are not remembered so fondly. There will be still more who live with the pain of regret; perhaps the loss of a child or the regret of failure.
Your past does not define you; God redeems everything.
Courage found in darkness
When love stands tall, we can see the courage it took to carry the pain of failure. Because there is no courage like the courage of a man that knows he’s failed, but stands up again. The type of courage that faces the pain and allows it to transform him.
This kind of courage should not be taken lightly; because it is only found in the dark. The man who finds this courage has lived long with the pain that shaped him.
honoring the love that stands tall
Today, I honor my husband who is just such a man. He would be the first to tell you that Father’s Day is among the most painful days of the year for him. His father left his home when he was a young child, and the impact of a boy growing up without a Dad still lives in his heart.
He would also be the first to tell you he knows he could’ve been a better father to his children. He did the best he could; but he knows he fell short too many times. But what he won’t tell you is that he lives quietly with that pain. He won’t tell you how in the darkness, love fueled the courage that transformed him. Though the scars remain, he is no longer the man who fell short too many times. He is the love that stands tall.
“Love is the father who lives with the pain of failure; yet has the courage to allow it to transform him.”
Donna Bucher
Yes, my husband inspired that quote, because he is just such a man. I am not only privileged to have witnessed the transformation, but honored to stand by his side. Happy Father’s Day, my love.
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