Memories of Fatherhood


Fatherhood. 
Image source: Write to Mean
That's the title of Bill Cosby's book which he wrote some time ago. Here's an excerpt: 
Image source: Mail Online
"Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can't wait to give money to my kids. But when I was his kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 4 A.M. when he was seven years old and walked twenty-three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a month. The result was that I never got my 50 cents. 

But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, 'Well, let's see how much money old Granddad has got for his wonderful kids.' And the minute they take money out of his hands, I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money!"

That made me laugh... and think. We all have fond (and not so fond) memories of our fathers. There were even times that we vowed that we will never be like our fathers. But, in the end when they're gone, we end up raising our kids the way we were raised. Now it's our kids' turn to have those memories.
Image source: YouWall
If there's one thing that we have to make sure our kids would remember is how we love God and how they ought to love Him, too. "Hear, O Israel : The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." (Deut. 6:4-7, NIV) Let us take the time to reflect on those words and see how we could impart that love to our children.

My take? Fathers, what memories are we leaving behind?

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