Today we celebrate Father’s Day. I’m one of the fortunate children who were brought up in a two parent home. My dad was always my hero. He and my mom instilled in us children to set our priorities straight, God, family and country. I was also close to my grandfathers from both sides of the family. Both of my grandfathers had a great influence in my life. It was truly a nuclear family. In the 50’s and 60’s, most families were two parent households. Since then, the family has been under a systematic attack on many fronts.

Today, a large percentage of homes have children without the presence of fathers. Throughout history, children have become fatherless because of the death and abandonment of their fathers. As times have changed, we see more and more divorce and a growing number of children that are born out of wedlock. Incarceration has also separated many fathers from their families. One out of four children is growing up without a father’s presence.

Today, we give tribute not only to our biological fathers, but also to the spiritual fathers, the stepfathers, foster fathers, and the mentors and role models who help complete God’s plan for families with a mother and father. Thank you God for being our loving Father in heaven.

2 Samuel 7:14-15: “I will be a father to him, and he’ll be a son to me. When he does wrong, I’ll discipline him in the usual ways, the pitfalls and obstacles of this mortal life. But I’ll never remove my gracious love from him.”