The Tragedy of a Fatherless Child (Cont.)

As I’ve been thinking about my last post, I feel as if I did this topic no justice.  Obviously, it would take pages and pages of writing to even hit the surface of the effects on a child without a father, yet I want to go just a bit deeper than I originally did. 

The tragedy of a fatherless child – these words don’t even make sense.  It’s an oxymoron, to say that a child doesn’t have a father.  It’s against nature, as we all know.  The effects of these words are evident.  A child without a father is like a pilot without a flight plan, a builder without blueprints, a quarterback with no game plan or signal coach.  Every child needs guidance, discipline, clear expectations and help, just to mention a few things.  When a child goes through life without guidance and direction, they cling to what society shows them will bring them happiness.  Many times, the happiness they find is actually a smoke screen, an illusion of happiness.  Without guidance and direction, a child clings to what they believe will replace their father, or in some cases, they cling to what is opposite of their father as a way of revenge against the father not being present during adolescence. 

What happens to many fatherless children is that they perpetuate this cycle, as we’ve already discussed many times.  It takes strong individuals, who make wise decisions, to break the cycle.  When the cycle is broken, (or in the rare-case where the cycle never started) we see glimpses of hope and change.  Please note, just because a father is present doesn’t mean that a child will automatically turn out great.  On the contrary, it requires a strong man (and his wife) to educate, influence and guide their children through every step of adolescence and youth.

Man up!

The Tragedy of a Fatherless Child

There’s an epidemic in our country of children growing up without a father.  It might be because their father gave his life serving his country.  It might be because their father is a workaholic.  It might be because of artificial birthing methods where the father is merely a donor.  It might be because of divorce.  It might also be because the father is a deadbeat.  There are probably millions of reasons why a child might grow up without a father… how do we stop this trend? 

In order to stop the trend of fatherless children, men must work to stop the trend.  They must work hard to reverse the relationships in their lives that are headed toward (or already in) disaster.  If men everywhere were virtuous, the percentage of fatherless children would greatly decrease.  Another way for the trend to be stopped is for women, everywhere, to choose wisely who they have children with.  Women, do not settle.  Have high expectations and never lower them.  These two factors play the biggest role in children growing up with their father as an active participant in their life.

This hits close to home for me, as I see three (and soon four) little kids close to me deal with their deadbeat father leaving them and their pregnant mother.  The father doesn’t see anything wrong with what he did.  The father couldn’t choose them and their needs over himself.  Now, the tragedy is being extended to four more kids.  I hope, by my life and decisions, that I can show them what a TrueMan and TrueFather are really like.

Man up!