My Hero, My Dad

“One of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten from God.  I call him daddy.” ~Unknown

​This morning was a little crazy, to say the least.  It started by happily laying in bed and dreaming the morning away.  Then, my mom hustled into the bedroom to inform me that a man was coming to our house to do some maintenance work, which always guarantees a certain degree of stress for the Briggs family.  With two (slightly insane) dogs at home, the presence of visitors in our house ensues a chorus of clamorous barking.  Before the maintenance man arrived in the next half hour, we had to take Moxy (the younger dog who has absolutely no chill, still I love her to death) to “Doggie Daycare” to decrease the level of stress in the house. 

In addition to this, my brother called my mom to inform her that he forgot his backpack at home, so she had to drop it off before his class started.  It was a hectic morning for the Briggs family!  With Josh backpack-less and my mom rushing to aid him, my father, the maintenance man, and I were the only ones left in the house. 

That morning, my dad was about to leave for a business trip but took his time at home before leaving by answering phone calls and such.  At one point, he entered the kitchen where I was working on my laptop, unknowingly about to receive the inspiration which would fuel this chapter.  Effortlessly, my father began to make me laugh.  While speedily and vigorously chowing down a small package of guacamole, he spilled some on his nicely tucked dress shirt.
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“Oh man!” he proclaimed.

We both burst into laughter.  Then, he told me a similar story from his past in which he had to attend a professional business meeting.  Before the meeting, he proceeded to the restroom to briefly wash up.  Incidentally, water from the faucet splashed all over his shirt.  To dry up hastily, he spent the next fifteen minutes standing under the hand dryer in the bathroom.  People walked in and out while giving him a plethora of strange looks.  

He and I had a good laugh about that story.  He told me a handful of other amusing stories that brought me great joy.  Then, my father glanced at his phone.

“Your mom is almost home now, so I’m going to get going.  I love you.”

The realization hit me.  My dad intentionally waited to leave for his trip until my mother arrived home, not wanting to leave me home alone with the maintenance man for my safety.  It was a subtle, yet most meaningful declaration of his love.  I felt so indescribably blessed to have such an amazing man to call my father.

Maybe you’re like me with stealthily amazing parents—the kind of people who do a lot of behind-the-scenes work and don’t draw too much attention to themselves or the things they do to show they care.  In my opinion, these are the best kinds of parents: humble, hardworking, and secure enough in themselves that they don’t require a lot of fanfare to substantiate their actions.  In the future, I want to heighten my senses to the ways in which my incredible parents show they care and then shower them with gratitude for their great love.  Maybe you have a hero in your life, whether it be a parent, friend, extended family member, or coworker.  I encourage you to thank them.

Maybe we can adopt the mindset of my father and be stealthily amazing people too.  In a world of selfies and social media, people who are secure enough to not need positive accolades to corroborate their actions are few and far between.  In reality, the knowledge that we are doing the right thing in God’s eyes should be more than enough.  But, we usually want more.

My father’s sense of integrity and security never ceases to inspire me.  While verbal validation from others always feels good, he has never needed it to carry out his selfless deeds.  I hope we come to live life this way too: to find contentment in serving the Kingdom, to know our integrity and intentions will forever be vindicated in God’s great book.

Questions for Reflection

1. What is one quality of your father that you admire?  Why?
2. Share an instance in which someone in your life showed their love for you in a way that didn’t bring attention to themselves.
3. How do you think social media has changed (if at all) our ability to maintain modesty?  What about the ability to feel personally secure in our actions and opinions without social validation?
4. Do you find yourself seeking positive accolades when you do something kind for someone else?  Why do you think we as human beings do this?