To the fathers who make a life-long commitment to the mother of their children and don’t walk away when it gets hard,

To the fathers who rock crying babies at night so mommas can get a little sleep,

To the fathers who change diapers, change their work schedule, and change their ways for their children,

To the fathers who run along side kids on bikes without training wheels, who shout encouragement, and then keep on encouraging with each new challenge.

To the fathers who help with math and science in the evenings and who teach life by their actions more than their words,

To the fathers who show their boys how to treat women with respect by doing the same for their wives,

To the fathers who show their daughters how precious and beautiful they are and that they are worth waiting for,

To the fathers who protect and fight for and provide for their families,

To the fathers who pray for their children, take them to church, and read the Bible in front of them,

To the fathers who are faithful to their children’s mother and treat her like a lady,

To the fathers who offer grace when their kids mess up,

To the fathers who are not ashamed to cry or think it is unmanly to be vulnerable,

To the fathers who make mistakes, fall down, ask for forgiveness, and pray to be more like Jesus every day,

To the fathers who love and care for other men’s children like their own,

To the fathers who become grandfathers, stooped and aging, yet still stand tall in spirit,

To the fathers on Father’s Day and every day.

We need you to be strong. We need you to be faithful. We need you to be men.

We need you to show us our Heavenly Father.

Revised and re-posted from June 2015