Father's Day 2017

So I just wanted to share my Father's Day talk with you all. I'm quite proud of it actually. I've never had so many people tell me that they liked my talk before. And a couple of people even told me that they teared up as I was speaking. Which is kind of my goal anytime I speak or sing in a church setting ;)

Basically I'm copying and pasting my notes from the talk into this blog post and then trying to add in the things that I added in as I spoke. Enjoy!

First off, I want to wish you all a Happy Father's Day! But I also want to acknowledge that today might be hard for some people. Not everyone’s dad is as cool as mine and that's hard. Maybe you don't get along well, or he's not in your life. So if the things that I'm about to describe isn’t your dad, I hope that you think of those “Dad” figures in your life today. Maybe it’s an uncle, a friend, your neighbor, or your Mom. Or maybe it’s multiple people. Whatever the case, all of the comparisons that I’m about to make still apply.

You’re learning how to ride a two-wheeler bike. Dad is with you day after day. He knows when it’s time to set the training wheels higher, and when to take them off. It’s reassuring to have him right there next to you holding you up as you ride. But then he lets go sometimes, which is scary. And sometimes you go for a little ways all by yourself and sometimes you fall immediately. You don’t realize that Dad is still right there next to you until he catches you.

Every. Single. Time.

He doesn’t want you to get hurt. But he also wants you to learn to do it by yourself because he knows how much fun it is! So he keeps letting go. And you keep falling. And he keeps catching. And eventually you don’t fall anymore and you’re off! You’re speeding down the sidewalk feeling like the coolest kid in the neighborhood and dad is left in the dust. But he’s the one that made it possible, and so he stands there smiling, so proud of you for working hard and letting go of your fears. Eventually you pedal back, jump off of your bike, and give your dad a big huge hug. You did it! And it was all because of Dad.

Let’s be real. As a kid, dad is pretty much THE coolest person ever. He’s so tall and he’s definitely the strongest daddy and he makes you giggle. And then you grow up. And he’s still there, but you don’t see him as much. You don’t talk to him as much. You know that he’s always there for you, but he’s not there with you and so he no longer knows when you’ve scraped your knee (or your heart). And you can no longer drag him out of bed when you’ve had a nightmare.

But guess what?! You actually do have a Father that is always there. Always listening. And He always knows exactly what you need, even before you do. And He knows when to step in and when to let you coast for a while and figure this life thing out on your own. But even then He’s right there next to you. Watching. Ready to catch you if you fall. He is a completely perfect parent. And I think that that is pretty amazing.

So I’m going to tell you about my own dad so that you understand how awesome he is. And then I’ll tell you how awesome your Father in Heaven is.

Dad just turned 60 a couple of months ago, and for his birthday, my sister came to us with an idea that she saw in a blog. We would gather together 60 letters and memories from all kinds of people that know my dad (including us of course), and then put them all in 60 separate envelopes and give them to him on his birthday.

I want to share some of those experiences and thoughts with you, starting with a bit of a Facebook status that I made on a Father’s Day that passed while I was a missionary:

“My dad is THE best person ever. You may think that it's your dad, but you'd be wrong. My dad is the most hardworking, hard playing, selfless, sweet person I have ever met.”

Here's a little bit of the "hard playing" side of my dad:

Fun-loving side:

A brother from our ward- Shortly after the Kretchman's joined our ward, we had a family softball game. So, Bill is in left field and a high pop fly is heading out in to foul territory. He tracks the ball and makes a great catch. Unfortunately for him though, there was no warning track. Immediately after he caught it he hit the fence which was waist high. He flipped right over it. To his credit and my team’s dismay, he held on to it. Big out!

My sister- Playing hide and seek with the kids. You hide under the kitchen table, but Spiderman style. Parallel with the table top, you used each leg of the table and your legs and arms to pull yourself and then hold yourself right under the table top. Who are you?

Me- Asking you “are we almost there?” during one of our many road trips and you replying “we’re getting closer all the time!” and me being totally satisfied with that response. Sneaky.

Service-oriented side:

A sister that was in our ward a years ago- When we have served together in church assignments, I looked to you as a great example of selfless service without complaint. The only time I heard even a hint of complaint was when you asked how we were supposed to share the gospel when all of our time seemed to be taken up with the needs of the ward in Maryland. And that's not even a complaint, just a desire to serve more.

Brother #3- You’ve tried to meet all the inactives, not because it’s your calling, but because you love the gospel and you know the worth of souls.

Brother #2- I'll always remember one stormy night when you woke me up, concerned about the roof not being closed in at _____, and then in that storm at night you helped me close it in so there wouldn't be any damage to the house.

Literally, this exemplifies my dad. He is ALWAYS serving somebody! And he's the meek, quiet, faithful servant, so no one really knows. He just goes and does and then goes and does some more. Not because anyone told him too, just because he loves people. It's just what he does.

We live in the middle of Hicktown, USA where lots of people go hunting and fishing after church. So my dad would go "hunting and fishing" too. But like, fishers of men kind of fishing. He would go out- I want to say every Sunday -and just go down the list of less active members and go see them. See if they still live there, if they needed anything, if they had any desire to come back to church. Because my dad cares about EVERYONE.

And that is how our Father in Heaven is as well. He knows each of our names and wants to make sure that we're all doing okay. He wants to be there for us if we need anything at all.

Which leads to these last memories, all from me and my siblings.

Reflecting Heavenly Father:

My sister- I will never forget coming home from a date night to see Shae sleeping with a blanket wrapped around his head because you were worried about his head being cold, and telling us that you understand how it feels to sleep with a cold head.

When I first read this memory, I laughed. Because Dad always wraps up in the weirdest way when he sits to watch TV. He takes our old green afghan and wraps it around his head and arms, usually with another blanket covering his legs and wrapped around his feet.

But then I really thought about it. As silly as this may sound, Heavenly Father knows what it's like to sleep with a cold head. He knows what it's like to be heartbroken, to be lonely, to break a bone, to suffer. And he knows how to fix it. And He can't always do it right away, but He's always there helping us along the way. He is wrapping a blanket around our heads because he knows how it feels to sleep with a cold head.

My sister- Simple, yet incredible to think back on all the many many many times we played catch on Kidwell Court. While I’m sure it happened at least once or twice, I don’t ever remember you turning me down when I asked you to go out and play catch with me.

Me- You sleeping with me every single night when I went through the phase of thinking that a burglar was going to come in through the window and take me away.

My dad works hard. I'm sure he is often tired and would appreciate some time to relax. But he never hesitated to help Brillante with softball because it was important to her. And he never complained about cramming on my bed or laying on the floor because I was sure that I would be kidnapped if he wasn't there with me when I fell asleep.

Heavenly Fathers cares about the small stuff. He always has time to listen to us. He doesn't mind if we ask over and over for the same thing. Because if it is important to us, it's important to Him.

Brother #3- You have been supportive of me even when it isn’t easy.

You’re the best father I ever could have asked for, and you’re doing a magnificent job at reflecting the influence of your (our) Father as well. I want to be like you when I grow up, Dad. I love you so much.

Brother #2- You never gave up on me, even when I gave up on myself.

      

I think that these ones are pretty obvious. Heavenly Father loves us even when we openly rebel against Him. He believes in us even when we've signed ourselves off as hopeless. We fall more times than we can count. But He is always there to lift us up, brush us off, and stick us right back on the bike, cheering us on as we start to pedal once again.

This last one kind of became the favorite of all of the memories that were shared.

Me- I remember our little neighbor Maisi coming to our door asking for me to play My Little Pony with her, but I was “too old and cool” to do that, so I said no. A little while later I saw you sitting on the sidewalk playing with her instead. I’ve always admired you for that.

My dad is always trying to make someone happy. He's always loving, he's always serving, he's always brightening somebody's day.

I was a little kid when that last memory happened. I don't know how old I was, but not very, that's for sure. But I've ALWAYS remembered that moment. I didn't want to play with our annoying little neighbor girl. She was only about four at the time and I was too cool for school. I was not about to play ponies with her. Yet when I walked outside and saw my dad sitting there playing with her I felt bad. But I also felt so proud that that was my dad. He didn't care if he looked silly. He knew that Maisi needed a friend and that playing ponies with her would make her happy. And so he did.

All Heavenly Father wants is for us to be happy. And he does SO much to help us to be happy. Even when times are hard, I guarantee that if you look, you will see His hand everywhere. He sends people to be there for us. He sends us rainbows and sunsets to brighten our otherwise gloomy day.

I am so grateful for my dad because, to pull more from that status that I read earlier: “He really helps me to understand how much my Heavenly Father loves me. Because I can't imagine anyone loving me more than my dad. I know that he'll never let me down and that he'll always be there to pick me up when I fall.” Because that’s what daddies do.

To close I wanted to share something that a friend of mine wrote and shared on Facebook while I was a missionary:

I just want to tell you (the person reading this) that Heavenly Father loves you more than anything and He knows you. He would have sent His son here even if it was just you on the earth. You are enough. You matter. He has great blessings in store for you, and it is never too late for anyone. Your soul individually matters to Him. He gets up every morning and sees your picture on His desk and says “that’s my child and I love them.”

I believe that that is true. 

One day, we're all going to pedal back to our Father and throw our arms around Him and say "Daddy I did it! I made it!" And He will hold us close with tears of joy running down His face because that's all He's ever wanted.

I know that Heavenly Father loves each of us so personally and so perfectly. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

PS- Happy Father's Day to all of you dad's, dad figures, or just awesome men in general! And a special shout out to my dad, who is obviously the coolest one ever <3