Dad By Alan Wimbish (pictured above)
I played little league baseball when I was 12. My father was rarely able to take me to practice due to his work schedule. One day, he picked me up from school and took me to practice. It was a hot North Carolina afternoon and the humidity was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. I wasn’t really excited about practice that day, but I was glad that my dad was with me. We warmed up by doing some batting practice. The coach was on the pitcher’s mound and slow pitching the ball to me. I hit a few of the pitches to second base. Finally, a pitch came my way and the bat connected with the ball in such a way that I had never felt before. I can still hear the “ting” of the ball hitting the metal bat. I looked in amazement as the ball soared over the ball field, over the chain link fence, past the score board, and into the dense woods behind the ball field. My dad had been sitting in the stands behind home plate. He sprang to his feet and said yelled, “I’ll go get it!” I have never seen my dad move so quickly. He was excited that his son had hit a home run. The fact that it was just practice didn’t matter. His son hit a home run. I don’t know who was more excited, me or him. That was twenty-eight years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I’ll be honest with you, I hated baseball. I still don’t like it, but I would play it everyday if I could see that excitement in his eye again. Don’t get me wrong, my dad is very proud of me and this memory is just one I have of many that are close to the surface in my memory bank.
Now that I’m a dad of four, I see what my dad saw in me that day. I am proud of my boys when I hear them say, “Yes ma’am” to their mother, or when I see them open a door for a lady when we go to the store. When I see my oldest help his mother hang laundry to dry in the backyard. My second son, looking back at me on his first day of 1st grade and waving to say “Bye daddy”, knowing that he was confident and comfortable enough to be on his own for six hours each day at school. My one year old daughter waiting for me at the front door of the house so that when I come through the door, she looks up at me and smiles the biggest smile as if to say, “My hero is home!” I love my kids and I am so proud of them for what they already are and what they will become. My children reflect me. They resemble me in actions, mannerism, and speech. When I was six years old, I used to follow my dad around the yard when he would mow the grass. I had a small toy lawnmower that was awfully loud, but it looked just like my dad’s real lawnmower. On Saturday’s during the spring and summer, my dad would mow the grass. I couldn’t wait for this. When he went outside to get his mower ready, I would get my toy mower ready and pretend to check the oil and put gas in it, just like dad did with his real mower. Then, I would set out behind him and follow him in everything he did. I wanted to imitate my dad in everything because he was my hero.
Father’s day is definitely a day for families to remember and honor their fathers. But it’s also a very special day for dads in particular. Maybe it’s selfish, but only dads can experience this. To sit and look at your children, to take pride in what they have become; what they will become. I wince a little bit to think about their future and the world that they are growing up in. This reminds me to work hard everyday in raising the four children that God has given me. I am most proud of my oldest son, who turned eight years old today, for the fact that he trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior when he was six, baptized when he was seven, and is now going on for the Lord and growing in his faith. I am praying for my other three children; that they will get saved while they are still children. It is my responsibility to raise my children in the fear of the Lord, to raise them to be godly men and women. The Bible gives us an excellent and perfect example of a father. God the Father is the perfect Father. He loves His children and takes some “pride” in seeing His children grow up to mature believers that love Him and reflect Him. If you haven’t done it already, call your dad and tell him Happy Father’s Day. He’s probably thinking about you.
Alan Wimbish
Child Evangelism Fellowship of New Mexico
Facebook/CEF of New Mexico
505-881-9848
