Being a Father

When is Father's day? 

• In Australia-First Sunday in September (September 2, 2012) 
• Many countries-Third Sunday in June (June 27, 2012) 

Today is the 5th day that my wife is overdue. This is the first time that it has happened to us and I am pretty nervous about it. I'm just hoping and praying that everything turns out well, and both my wife and Hannah will be safe when the day comes.

Father's Day Picture from Flickr

The unspoken crisis of today's fathers
We live in an age when being a good father is increasingly becoming difficult, not only to define but also to live up to. On one hand, we're expected to be warriors in life's battles and dramas. Everyday, we get up to hunt for food and forge alliances to compete in a world of scarce resources. The weapons have changed and the rules of war redrafted. Rather than spears, swords and axes we're equipped with education, experience, knowledge and ability.

On the other hand, we're also expected to be gentle like a lion resting in its den. We're expected to speak carefully, to watch what we do and to tend to those who help us.

But we still do slay enemies
By beating opponents in competition day in and day out. Every calling has its occupational hazard and every job, its risks. There's no calling that is safe from the prying eyes of the enemy. Each man always has his own demons to slay.

Every father has his own failing
It's just a matter of choosing your failures.

I know of fathers who have chosen to go to other countries for money. It's always about the money. While most have kept true to their promises, some have gone astray and succumbed to their worldly desires. Forgetting their mission and the reasons why they are there in another country in the first place. These fathers have become lost in the cesspool of their own broken dreams while their children languish and suffer a childhood of confusion.

Temptation is just a click away
Never before in the age of man, has temptation beckoned so easily and with the press of a button. I imagine fathers of old, needing much more skill in order to sin and in order to do away with their God-given vows. But now, everything is within reach at the speed of thought.

Pillars full of termites
In Filipino society, the mother serves as the light in the darkness while the father is the strong pillar that keeps the house upright. In today's morally ambiguous and deluded world, the termites that gnaw at the very foundations of the house are increasing. The world as we know it, will change rapidly over the course of this lifetime.

As fathers we can only hope that we will have the strength to stand and face the howling winds of the coming storm.