I have nothing profound to say on Father's Day or my Wedding Anniversary

The thoughts about today being Father's Day and yesterday being our 28th Wedding Anniversary should be profound and pithy.  They represent two events that totally changed my life.

But, looking out my living room window on an early summer Sunday I'm still waking up and the most profound thing in my mind at this moment is the cup of coffee on the end table next to me.

It's hard for me to put into words what being a father means to me.

Pure and simple, it's the best job I've ever had and I've had a bunch of neat jobs.  God blessed me beyond what I deserved and beyond what I could ever imagine by letting me be a father to my daughter Krista and my son Justin.  Being able to play a role in their birth and their growth has totally reshaped by view about what is important in life.

Being married to my wife Gladys sits at the top of the mountain though.  Feeling her unconditional love and being able to partner in all these life events has been a life-changer for me.  Whether it's her giving birth, whether it's going to the pediatrician for that first ear infection appointment or whether it was the death of a parent, we did it all together.

The kids are gone and our parenting has been reshaped.  We are writing new chapters.

I share this for those who come from challenged backgrounds.  Maybe single-mom families with a crappy dad or no dad.  Perhaps the odds of you ever having a loving family life or being a loving dad were about the same as the Detroit Lions winning the Superbowl.

My father abandoned my mom and me in the late forties.  He never called or wrote.  He just vanished.  He turned out to be a real dirt bag.  I found him more than two decades later and he had another family and he was wealthy.  During our two minute visit, he totally disowned me.

As a young adult, I was crushed.  I was angry inside, but I couldn't share it.  Nobody cared, included and especially the church.  My father's disappearance helped shape who I am.

My mother was a true hero.  She loved unconditionally.  She never flinched from her responsibility. 

The odds though were against me ever having a successful marriage or being a loving father.

Through the grace of God, the cycle has been broken.

I'm blessed big time.

I have something to really praise God for when I go to church today.  Today, I have reason to sing a little louder and a little clearer.

Thank-you God.