Courageous

In my last post I talked about the effect that divorce has on kids because it had been heavy on my heart. Pastor's message this Sunday morning was also about family life. He pointed out the mistakes made in the family of Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Esau and the results of those mistakes. It seems like it just keeps coming up lately. This week I also got to see the movie "Courageous." It too talks about the needs that kids have and the effects on their lives when those needs aren't met.

Without giving too much of the story away, I can tell you that it's about 4 policemen who are doing what policemen do. In the course of their job they are battling with some gang members. Throughout the movie the men come to realize what a vital need kids have for a strong, Goldy father in their lives and how the gang members they are fighting are the result of that need being left unfulfilled.

The movie calls for Christian men to stand up and be the true leaders, fathers, and husbands that God desires and designed them to be. It reminds all of us that being a good father means that a man does more than just provide for his family, but he also guides them, spends time with them, and sets the example for them to follow by being a Godly man of integrity himself. It reminds us that this will take a lot of time, thought, purpose, and even more... courage. It will take determination that comes from the knowledge that how a man lives his life has permanent and life-altering affect on the lives of his kids, grandkids, etc.

In the end the movie made me laugh, made me cry, made me laugh, made me cry again, and made me want to call my Daddy. It also made me even more determined to wait for the right person to marry and have a family with. The world has far too many children growing up in broken homes or with distant dads. I refuse to add to their numbers. I want my children to have the kind of father these men determined to be because that's what they will need. I won't settle for less. I will wait for such a man of courage and in doing so, hopefully I will be doing my part to be "Courageous" for my future family too.