FATHERS & DAUGHTERS
All of the research shows that fathers have a unique role in the lives of their daughters, and specifically in the future relationships those daughters have with other men!
It has now been established that if a father is detached or uninvolved with his daughter, it is far more likely that she will be more promiscuous. In other words, the prolonged presence of a warm and engaged father can buffer girls against early, high-risk sex. Why? Because fathers are the ones primarily who will establish what type of conduct and behavior she will accept or reject.
Lara and I have one daughter and six granddaughters (and two sons and five grandsons), and it is very important to me that they never develop a man-shaped hole in their hearts as a result of a distant father whose love they craved without success. Furthermore, I have helped teach our sons and grandsons to honor women, starting with the women in our family, with even little things like opening doors for them, giving up seats in crowded areas, pulling back chairs for them at a restaurant, and providing a jacket on cool evenings. In doing so, I was not only teaching our sons how to be gentlemen, but I was creating a nurturing environment for my wife and daughter and granddaughters to reinforce their sense of protection and self-esteem.
Moreover, I worked hard to keep open the lines of communication, particularly as they got older, by raising current topics of interest in our world for discussion, and I would sit on their beds at night to discuss other matters of personal interest for them as well.
Yes, the women in our family have a father and grandfather who is less than perfect and who has made many mistakes, but I loved them, and they never doubted it for a moment. I was there for them, and they could count on it. They were fathered as unto the Lord, and that can make all of the difference in the world.
Devotedly your pastor,
Bill Blanchard