By Betsy Ore Glass

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12

I can conjure up so many memories when I think of my dad and Father’s Day. The cookouts, the plaid shorts and his easy laugh. Daddy has been gone now for more than a decade but I always loved the way he said “Hello” when he answered the phone. I loved how he encouraged me in anything I tried to do. He was a hard worker and always put our family first. He was a Deacon at our church, coached the church men’s softball league, he kept the cars running and our home beautiful and manicured. He was a man to admire. His love of helping people, his kindness, his neighborly way made him so likable. He took in stray animals and made sure no one went without a meal. I know I was blessed to have him as my dad.

Not everyone is so fortunate to have a godly example to follow. This occasion to mark Father’s Day may not be a good day for you. Perhaps you didn’t know your father, he was not a godly man and wasn’t possessing moral behavior to follow. God knows all this. I believe God can bring in wonderful people to act in the father role and my hat is off to them. Stepfathers, uncles, big brothers, teachers and pastors plus more often rise to the occasion unnoticed and help to shape a child’s life. You don’t have to be the biological father to bring up a child in the way he should go. These men that God calls to the task are blessings. And the mothers that are doing the job of two. You are a blessing beyond description. You are pulling a double load of responsibility. If no one says thank you today, know you are appreciated and deeply valued.

Our Father in Heaven is the ultimate example of leadership, love and guidance, compassion and more. His Word is our moral compass. Talk to Him this week. Make time for Him. He is the one who never leaves us and is always there. If we surrender to Him He will take our life and turn it into His glory. He will mold and shape us to have a life pleasing to Him. But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:6 

Whatever this day means to you, know there are many that are happy and blessed and an equal amount that are hurting and grieving. If you are a father, thank you. If you are in a father role, thank you. If you are a child, be grateful for the people that God puts in your life. If I see a man in plaid shorts this week at the hardware store or cutting his grass in the neighborhood, I will smile in my heart and whisper thank you.

Betsy Ore Glass has long-standing ties to the Outer Banks. From Virginia Beach, her family bought a vacation cottage in the 60s and her love of the area began. Later in the 90s, Betsy and her husband bought a weekend cottage and introduced the area to their children. Then Betsy’s parents retired to KDH where the family gathered often. Reach her at betsyglass1@gmail.com. To learn more about her new book, Reflections by the Sea, visit betsyoreglass.com.

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