As June is the month of Father’s Day and I am a father, I hope that you will indulge my personal reflection on fatherhood.

My years as a father have provided the moments of greatest joy and also the times of greatest disappointment in my life. Not disappointment in my children, but disappointment in myself for the way in which I reacted to a certain situation or circumstance that they were in. I guess that the most difficult thing for me as a father is to be able to recognize and avoid that basic desire to somehow relive my life through my kids. And that is hard to do, because it comes disguised as such good intentions. All of us want our children to be happy and to avoid painful experiences; but if that desire leads us into being overprotective, pushy parents, then it is definitely not in their best interest. Life is all about the journey; we are meant to experience all that life has to offer, both good and bad. We enjoy the good things that come our way, and we learn from the things that are not so good. The point is that we are blessed and shaped by both the good and the bad. As parents, our role is not to stand between our children and life, trying to somehow filter out the bad things before they encounter them. Rather, we are to walk beside them—ready to offer advice when asked, support when needed, and unconditional love at all times.

Jesus Christ did not arrange for his disciples to avoid hardship. Instead, he prepared them for those challenges by his example and by his promise to be with them always. This Father’s Day I thank God for my father and my children; may I always be a blessing to them all.