Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today, my Dad turns 50. In today’s world, growing up with a father around is not always normal. Growing up with a Christian father is even less common. Every year I am more and more grateful for the Dad that God has given me. Here are just a few of the many reasons I am thankful for my Dad today (and every day).

1. He doesn’t take himself too seriously—which in turn makes him a pretty funny guy. His humility allows him to laugh at himself, and this taught my brothers and me to be able to laugh at ourselves.
2. He is kind and compassionate. He cares about the fatherless. I can still remember his care and kindness towards friends who had no fatherly influence in their lives.
3. He is a hard worker. He has always provided for our family. We always had food on the table (due to Mom’s work in cooking it and Dad’s work in making the living). We always had our needs met.
4. He loves us and we know it. There was never any doubt in my mind that he loved Mom, me, and my brothers. One of the most vivid pictures of his love for me was when, even in my rebellion against him, he traveled across the country to help me move and took care of me. This was a huge picture of the Gospel to me.
5. He is always there. In a day when dad’s leave and our unreliable, a dad who is there is no small thing. He cares about the details of my life, from my grades all the way through school to how my job is going now.

As I watch my brothers grow into Christian men and become fathers themselves I see markings of my Dad’s influence in their life—and I am grateful. They are the men they are in part to my Dad’s life being lived out before them. Just like Mom, you are leaving a legacy too, Dad. You are leaving a legacy of godliness and manhood that, Lord willing, will be passed on to future Tarter generations. I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday!