“You can spend 80+ hours a week working to make sure your kids have a better lifestyle, or you can work less and get to know them. Because if you miss all those growing years, they will be older and too busy for you.” – Heard on Moody Radio
Our family has really enjoyed James MacDonald’s series, and our sons have gleaned valuable personal insight and relational counsel for interacting with their future girlfriends, spouses, and children. Your kids are never too young to start learning how to treat people–especially when it comes to the opposite sex. And, with the conclusion of the Act Like Men Conference on Moody Radio, the discussion about men and fathers spending more time in the home continues. In other words, about men doing more than just bringing home the bacon.
Listening to this series has reminded me about my time as an Army Sergeant: working 80+ hours a week, rarely home, traveling across the country or overseas for months (and even a year in South Korea) at a time. I barely knew my sons because I hardly saw them. My life was not my own; I was “Government Issue.” I had no plans to become a disabled vet, but I believe God allowed it to happen. Because though my back injury ended my military career, it gave me something more valuable than any career possibly could: time with my three sons. The time most fathers spend away from their kids breaking their necks to bring home a fat paycheck is time that can’t be recovered. We don’t want to miss father/daughter dances or our son’s first game… but sometimes it happens. We men need to do whatever it takes to make the time to do these things–yes, even if it means less income. Because once those moments happen, they are gone for good. And no amount of money can bring them back. You don’t want to relive your kids’ experiences through your wife’s recounting. You need to be there as well. In the moment. Not thinking about the fire you have to put out later at work or some other shiny thing that distracts us so easily.
Most importantly, men, we need to be the spiritual leaders of our households. We must make certain that we give our children a Biblical foundation on which God will build over the course of their walk with Him. Nightly family Bible study and prayer time is something that Rebecca and I began to ensure that we “train up our children in the way they should go. (Prov. 22:6)” Yes, sometimes we’re dog tired from the day’s events, but, regardless of how we feel, we are still faithful to do it every night (except church nights). It’s a sacrifice. But it’s also an investment. And they are totally worth it. There’s no other place I’d rather be.
In Christ’s perfect love,
Dwight
The Parson
