All is quiet this holiday
June 16, 2024
Daiga Ellaby Unsplash
The main difference between this Father’s Day and Father’s Day 25 years ago can be measured in decibels.
Both of our children are grown and flew from our nest long years ago. Both are doing fine, more a testament to their hard work and perseverance than anything their mother and I did.
Things are quiet without them around, and I kind of miss the constant buzz. When our children were little, I was more or less a stay-at-home dad who soon tired of comparisons with that other Michael, Mr. Keaton, who starred alongside Teri Garr in the film “Mr. Mom.” When the children and I were at, say, a park, someone would invariably note my “babysitting” contributions that day. “Uh, no,” I’d tell the person. “I’m their dad.”
Eventually, I landed part-time gigs outside the home with local newspapers. Both children spent large amounts of time on my back in a carrier as I’d try to write readable prose while withstanding pulled hair and the occasional need for a bottle — theirs, not mine.
I do miss those formative experiences, of course. I miss how close we were — literally — in those days. Both children are, of course, just a phone call away, and one still lives in our community.
The Book of Ecclesiastes — not to mention Pete Seeger and, later, the Byrds — teaches us there’s a season for all our life’s events. I can hardly wait for what’s next, even as I fondly recall those important years.
Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, June 16, 2024, the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Today’s Focus: Father’s Day
Let us join in prayer for:
PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Sam Young Kim, Ministry Engagement Advisor, Korean, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)
Regina Kimbrough, Trust Officer, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray
God, thanks for your presence and for your listening ear during every season of our life. Continue to care for your people as we do our best to minister to the ones you entrust to our care. Amen.
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