Don’t we all have iconic photographs which have etched in our hearts the way we remember our fathers? The pictures capture not only the way our fathers looked on the outside to us. They also reflect through the prism of a moment frozen in time the true essence of the children God made who became men and fathers of us.
My father died in 2015. The best part of him dwells in the father I am. I will never wade fish in the Laguna Madre or Topolobampo, Mexico like him. Yet, I can be that same exemplary rock of faith, hope, love and care for my children and grandchildren as he was.
So, today I share with you this image of my dad, the fisherman who loved fishing more than anything else except me and my brothers and sister and, of course, my mother.
I learned more from Dad than just how to fish. Dad showed me something that all great dads do for their children. He showed me how to love Dorothy as my wife and mother of our children. How to reel in, capture, love, caress and care for the woman who day in and day out is responsible for the kids when I am not with them.
God has spoken in Scripture of our fathers.
Psalm 32:7-7
You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Proverbs 4:11-12
I will guide you in the way of wisdom and I will lead you in upright paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered, and when you run, you will not stumble.
Dear God, the Father of all creation,
Your Son was a fisher of men.
On this Father’s Day
I am proud to say
My father was a fisherman too.
He lived a life in service to You.
5,000 could have been fed
From the rod he cast over his head.
Yet, his greatest catch was his faith in You
And of Your love and what it can do.
God, please tell my dad I miss him so
And all the fishing trips we used to go.
Every son needs a father as him
Who wore sunglasses and a hat with a brim.
Thanks for my dad never being lost at sea
For sending him to Earth and a son like me. Amen.
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Jack H. Emmott is a Senior Counsel of Gray, Reed & McGraw, LLP, a 145-lawyer full-service firm in Houston, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, a Board-Certified Family Law and Master Credentialed Collaborative Law Professional Divorce Attorney, Mediator, Author, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. For more information about Jack or his latest book, Bending Angels: Living Messengers of God’s Love, go to the Bending Angel website.