Describe Your Father in One Word

My wife Jan and I attended a FamilyLife marriage conference several years ago (she needs a refresher every now and again). At one point that weekend the host couple asked the women in the audience to go with the wife to an adjoining room while the husband stayed to talk with the men.

He opened the session with the question, “If you had to describe your father in one word, what is the first word that pops into your mind?” He opened the floor and asked us to shout out the word from where we were sitting. The response went something like this:

• Supportive.
• Strong.
• Provider.
• Hard-working.
• Loving.
• Encouraging.

Long pause.

• Alcoholic.
• Angry
• Distant.
• Demanding.
• Abusive.
• Absent.

It was at that precise moment that God laid it on my heart to write my book, When Father is a Bad Word. I can’t tell you how many men in the room that day were (and perhaps still are) in need of emotional and spiritual healing. God has asked me to reach out to those suffering with father wounds (through my writing, speaking, and personal coaching) and introduce them to a Heavenly Father who desires to bring health and healing to their lives.

So let me ask you: If you had to describe your father in one word, what is the first word that pops into your mind?

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