Image courtesy of Ebony Magazine
https://www.ebony.com/life/family_parenting/page/9/
The client was in his late 20s, his face impassive, revealing nothing. He came to the legal clinic prepared, bringing along rent receipts carefully retained.
He told a story we had heard many times before: a layoff, promises to a landlord and partial payment of rent, then eviction. In this case, the poignant detail was added of his returning home from the job search to find his sons on the porch with their mother, the door to their apartment padlocked.
We discussed his limited options. It was only at the end of our session with him that the topic of fatherhood came up. We were deeply impressed by his faithfulness, his efforts to protect his family against the hardships of poverty. When we told him so, the dam burst.
He spoke with passion of having been abandoned as a young boy by his own father, of leaving home by his early teens, and fathering his first son within two years. He spoke of feeling a failure, of the temptation to leave, walk away as his father had.
We did what little we could. He needed a job and a roof over his head more than he did a lawyer.
But he stands to this day as an example for me of what fatherhood should be. It is the reason I am reminded of him on Father’s Day. His sons – the evidence of his existence, the personification of his desire to do better than his father – I am certain were blessed by his presence and his character.
I know I was.
“So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him” (Gen. 35: 29).
Originally posted 6/15/14
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ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 
What a beautiful story, Anna. ❤
Every word is true.
Very moving story, Anna, and grateful to hear on this Father’s Day. Praying for all those like him and those who come alongside them to help them. 🙏
pax,
dora
I join you in that prayer, Dora. There are countless others. ❤
This is so moving. My heart hurts for this man. What a great example of a loving father. Thanks for sharing this story with us..
Exactly how I feel to this day.
Anna, describiste un verdadero ejemplo de paternidad. Cuánta grandeza luchar, enmedio de las adversidades y la pobreza, para dar de comer y proteger a los hijos. Es grandioso. Y ustedes, por su parte, tuvieron la madurez y la experiencia para detectar que el hombre, más que un abogado, necesitaba otra clase de apoyo para respaldar su lucha como padre. Me sumo a las oraciones por esos padres que dan todo por sus familias. Saludos.
Este es un mundo duro para muchos, Santiago. Tanto los niños como los padres necesitan el cuidado de Dios. El es nuestro Padre amoroso. Bendiciones, A.
Dear Father, I pray, honour this father. Amen.
Amen.
This was a very touching and heart-felt story. I feel sorry for everything that that man had to go through but I also admire his strength and faithfulness towards his family. To want to be a good father because his own abonded him is a very brave thing to do. Thank you for sharing ❤
I agree. ❤
A very touching story. I really want the young father to be able to care for his sons the way he wants, unlike his own father.
I know. The situation was heartbreaking. Unfortunately, it was not isolated. There are thousands of such young men struggling w/ fatherhood.
Dear Anna, Thanx for an excellent blog! This man stands as a hero in my books because he is staying with his family whatever the difficulties.
Read https://capost2k.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/guest-blog-by-star-parker/ for more on the value of a dad staying with the family, even an imperfect dad.
That said, my heart continues to keep you in prayer for your personal trauma.
love and prayers, c.a.
Thank you so much for your comment, and your kindness. Like you, I believe in the importance of fathers (something our society seems to dismiss).
All things considered, I feel I have been greatly blessed. I only hope I can give back in some small way.
Blessings,
A.
To try so hard, and be so thwarted. We ache to hope they hugged for comfort on that stoop and then some ease befell them, instead of the turmoil that likely awaited.