I'm sure he had all sorts of reasons for taking me on dates through the years, but looking back on them I remember most how special and important they made me feel.
The dates with my dad assured me of my significance and my value. They taught me a lot about how a gentleman treates a lady. Dad modeled what a good man should be, and it wasn't limited to just our dates. He did it in every day life, too.
In middle school, one of our dates was a visit to the local bookstore where Dad let me pick out my favorite journal. Then he sat me down in the cafe and asked me to start writing out the kind of man I wanted to marry someday. He told me he wanted me to keep a running description, so I would always know what to consider when a guy asked me out someday.
It wasn't hard to make that list. Most of the characteristics where ones I saw in him - the way he treated Mom, the way he treated me and my brother, the way he treated others, the way He loved the Lord.
When Hubby and I started dating, I knew it was a good idea because - whether or not a wedding was actually in our future - he was someone I could possibly marry. And when he did propose in the very same park of my first date with my dad, I was confident in saying yes.
It's been said countless times in numerous parenting books and by tons of parenting teachers, but it is so very true. Dads need to spend time with their daughters, if for no other reason than because how he treats her is how she learns to define the marrying kind.
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A continuation of my 31 Days series which can be found here. To see all of the 31 Days participants, visit here.
1 comments:
Oh. I love reading here about your father. :) What a gift!
And I am so thankful for my husband. He is such a good daddy. He loves our three girls. And nothing melts my heart more than to see how he gives of his time for them, to hear him talk to them about the Lord, to see the girls snuggled up in his arms. :) Priceless.
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