I Had a Father All Along…

{For just two weeks, we are handing over our computers to the men in our lives and turning this little piece of the world wide web into Houston Dads Blog!  Read along with their joys and their struggles, and find out why we are so very thankful to have these awesome dads in our lives.}

From Misty :: Yep…he’s the real deal.  He loves with ALL his heart and is steady and sure.  Especially about his family.  I’ll never understand how he came to be the husband and dad that I see on a daily basis, but he did.  Meet my Chuck.  I love him SO, and I’m honored to call him mine.

It was raining.  I remember it all so clearly.  Just as if it were yesterday.  I frantically started to pack everything I could into a lunch box when he told me he was leaving.  I was 5.  I ran to the door wearing a raincoat with that lunch box in hand, but he was gone.

My dad had left.

I began a life with no father.  No one to teach the things a father should.  No dad present watching me at my football or basketball games or practices.  No dad to give guidance and direction when I was going down a path that desperately needed a father.  I was envious.  Envious of my friends who had what I didn’t have.  A father.

Days would go by…an empty feeling consumed my little boy life and would follow me into my adolescent and yes, even my adult years.  I faltered, I failed, I even ended up in a boys’ home for a time.  But I made it with a promise to myself that if I ever had children, I would always be there for them and never walk out. And now, as I look back, one thing is crystal clear…I had {and have} a Heavenly Father.  And HE placed people along the way to help.  People like Coach Bucky Allison {Little League football years}, Coach Arnold {Humble Middle School}, Mr. Reynga {Humble High School}, and Drill Sgt. Brown {US ARMY}.  These men stepped up in my life to give me what I was lacking…encouragement, second chances, courage, a pat on the back, and most of all THEIR TIME.

But can I just speak to the moms and wives out there?  You are KEY.  For your children AND for your husbands.  Yes, I needed a dad.  Sadly, not anything that I can think of can fully fill that role.  But men were not the only ones placed in my life to help mold me.  I have a mom and a wife who stepped up.  They have been more of an impact than they know.

…My mom, while working multiple jobs trying to provide for her 4 kids, was always there.  Her actions taught me how to love, how to provide, how to be strong, and how to treat a woman.  And guess who was there for me when I found myself alone with custody of two toddlers when my first wife chose a new life for herself?  Yep, that would be my mom again.  Bless you, moms.  You stick by your babies through the good and the bad.  And we don’t forget.

…And then came the love of my life.  She stepped in and taught me without even knowing it.  She showed me love, kindness, forgiveness, grace, trust, strength, and loyalty.  She helped me raise my kids.  We did it TOGETHER.  “Together” is HUGE for someone who has had an empty longing for most of his life.  Together heals.  And apparently and thankfully, “together” grows.

I now am the proud father to FOUR beautiful children, and I intend to keep the promise I made so many years ago…

I WILL love and be there for my kids, through whatever life may throw our way.

This Father’s Day, mom and wife, don’t forget what an impact you are.

And most importantly, rely on the ONE who never fails.  I had a father all along.  Thankfully, HE never left.