Father's Day
By
Mark Merrill
Behind a successful person we often find the legacy of a loving
father.
We may not know their names. Some are shopkeepers or farmers or shoe
salesmen. Nothing they did in their jobs made them famous or successful.
But what they did as fathers changed the course of history.
A writer once described the goal of fathering as this: to ignite a
spark in the life of your children that lights up the rest of their
lives. In honor of Father's Day, here are four dads who did just that.
Each gave their child a character quality that lit up their lives.
Luther was a jaunty, confident man, small in stature but large in
love. He lived in the South Bronx of New York, and worked first as a
gardener on estates in Connecticut. Later, he went to work at
Ginsburg's, a manufacturer of women's suits and coats. He started out
working in the stockroom and moved up to become a shipping clerk. He
worked hard to raise his daughter, Marilyn, to protect her from the
streets, and to make sure she "ran with the good girls." To his son he
gave a legacy of good character and hard work. Luther's son, General
Colin Powell, says this: "I wouldn't be where I am today without my
father."
Alfred Roberts was a small-town shopkeeper. He managed the grocery
store in a place called Grantham. For his daughter Margaret, he was a
fount of wisdom and knowledge, even though he had little formal
education. She remembers fondly a time when she wanted to go out and
hang around with friends rather than do her school work. "He said,
'Never do things just because other people do them.'" It was a simple
expression, but something she carries with her to this day. She also
recalls his commitment to serving others. "Service was engraved in his
heart," Margaret says. It was that commitment to service that helped
Margaret pick her career. Today we know little Margaret Roberts as
former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
George was a lawyer who lived with his family on a gently sloping
plain next to the San Gabriel Mountains in California. Handsome and
slim, he wore a floppy mustache. He was elected district attorney of Los
Angeles County, but you will remember him more because of his son. His
children--George, Jr. and Nita--adored him. He took them fishing and
sailing, taught them how to ride a horse and shoot a rifle. "We spent
hours in his lap," recalled George, Jr., "listening as he read aloud."
The reading was particularly important because George Jr. was dyslexic
and had trouble reading. But his father worked hard with him on his
reading, and helped to wipe away the tears that came from the cruel
laughter that accompanied his mistakes in school. George, Jr. said his
father taught him everything he knew, but especially the value of
courage. A high compliment when you consider it came from General George
S. Patton.
Frank had a small place in Sharon Township, North Carolina. It was a
dairy farm, but it wasn't much of a living. His children often remember
him with a sun-browned face, walking up the hot, dusty path back to the
farmhouse. In the 1929 stock market crash, he lost his entire life
savings--$4,000. But his children, especially his son William,
remembered how he persevered in his faith, knowing that things would get
better. "He never complained about the rigors of life," his son wrote
later, "he was always hopeful about the future." Frank's son credits his
father with teaching him about practical faith. And it’s a good thing he
did: we know Frank's son as Billy Graham.
Each of these four individuals observed in their father a quality
that became the key to their own success. For Colin Powell it was hard
work. For Margaret Thatcher, a commitment to service. For George Patton,
courage, and for Billy Graham, faith. We like to think that these great
qualities somehow just appeared in these successful people. But they
didn't. Each quality was a gift from their father.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
|
Mark
W. Merrill is president of Family First, an independent
research and communications organization. He is also the
father of two daughters and one son. |
The
Best
Parent
is
BOTH
Parents!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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