Just in case you’re out of the loop, Father’s Day is this Sunday (June 21). So, in honor of my dad, today’s blog is all about dads. The father-daughter relationship is a pretty important one. According to this great article, the father-daughter relationship is one of the most important influences in a girl’s life. 

So, Dad, thank you for taking me to see Sesame Street Live! every year on our special date, even though I rarely made it through the first act without falling asleep. Thank you for teaching me to ride my bike. I’m sorry you got in trouble for running in to tell Mom before you taught me to use the brakes. Thank you for eventually teaching me to use them, though. 

Thank you for disciplining me when I deserved it. You were always fair and I know you always had my best interest in mind, even if I thought you wanted to take me back to the store and exchange me for a different, better-behaved daughter. 

Thank you for playing Barbies with me. It never occurred to me that a man in his mid-30’s might not enjoy playing with dolls as much as I did. You were an excellent playmate even if you didn’t know that the red shoes should never go with a pink dress. 

Thank you for teaching me to drive. I can still hear your voice next to me saying “brake, brake, BRAKE!” when I get a little too close to the car in front of me. It makes me a safer driver. 

I love you! 

Take time this weekend to thank your dad for everything he’s done for you. Give him a big hug and tell him how much you love him. 

If your dad isn’t in your life right now, and you feel like you have a big piece missing, know that God is the perfect father.  

1 John 3:1-3 (NIV) says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”