Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

Dad, you are the first man in your daughter’s life.  You are the role model, the one that she will look up to.  You are the example– of what a dad should be and what God is like.

What an awesome and scary thought!

The first chapter in Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters is You Are the Most Important Man in Her life.  What’s amazing is that Dr. Meeker attests from experience how girls are impacted by their fathers:

I have watched daughters talk to fathers.  When you come in the room, they change.  Everything about them changes: their eyes, their mouths, their gestures, their body language.  Daughters are never lukewarm in the presence of their fathers.  They might take mothers for granted, but not you.  They light up– or they cry.  They watch you intensely.  They hang on your words.  They hope for your attention, and they wait for it in frustration– or in despair.  they need a gesture of approval, a nod of encouragement, or even simple eye contact to let them know you care and are willing to help.

When she’s in your company, your daughter tries harder to excel.  When you teach her, she learns more rapidly.  When you guide her, she gains confidence.  If you fully understood how profoundly you can influence your daughter’s life, you would be terrified, overwhelmed, or both.  Boyfriends, brothers, even husbands can’t shape her character the way that you do.  You will influence her entire life because she gives you authority she gives no other man.

That last part is the part that struck me the most.  You figure that since they will hopefully be married for much longer than they’ll be in your home, you think that their future husband will have a tremendous impact.

When they’re going through their teenage years, and they talk about their boyfriend and it seems their world revolves around them, it’s hard to imagine that you have the influence that you do.

But take heart, men, you have an influence in your life– you need to take advantage of it, and help guide her heart to find the right man, to strive to be the best she can be.  It is you that will inspire her to go further than she thought possible.

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