Read part one here.
In the late 1970’s, there was a young couple who were happy and in love. They met when she was 15. She was a freshman and they were high school sweethearts.
He was a grade older. After graduation he went off to another town to work and she stayed to finish her senior year. When they went their separate ways they each met someone else. She graduated in June and got married in July. Soon after she married she found out she was expecting a baby girl. The following August, at 20 years old, she became a mom. Unfortunately, this baby girl’s dad, her new husband wasn’t ready to have a family like she was. She bravely packed up her newborn daughter and rode a bus back home.
Her family took them in and she began to find her way as a single mom.
Eventually, the boy, now a man made his way back to their hometown as well. Their paths crossed one day during a demolition derby at a local fair.
He had heard that she had gotten married and had a son now. Little did he know she was single again and actually had a little girl. A little girl who would soon become his little girl.
It didn’t take long for them to fall in love all over again. In 1985, they were married. With their little girl as the flower girl, they were ready to begin their new lives together as a family of three.
As the years went on they had more babies and their family grew. Yet, he never ever treated her little girl as anything other than his own. It was never a secret that he wasn’t there when she was born or to see her first steps, yet no one ever knew any different. She never felt any different. All because of his overwhelming love for her as his own daughter from day one.
He worked hard day in and day out to not only support his new family he had built with his longtime love, but to make sure that little girl had the daddy and the life she so deserved. He went to every dance recital, sports game and singing performance. He taught her to shoot a gun, catch fish, throw a ball, ride a bike, drive a tractor, take care of farm animals, drive a manual truck, change her oil, and so much more.
The dad he didn’t have to be.
As she grew up, he was the strict dad who the boys were afraid of. No boy was good enough for her. He set an example for her of what a gentleman really is, how she was to be respected and how she should respect herself. Most importantly, he taught her how to love Jesus.
The dad he didn’t have to be.
He spoiled her and treated her like a princess. She knew how to push his buttons but also how to bat her eyes, smile and melt his heart to get what she wanted.
He was there for her first day of kindergarten, to play dolls and dress up, to yell “that’s my baby!” at the first (and every) football game she cheered at, to surprise her with her first truck that he restored on his own, to take her on dates, to ground her often, to send her off to prom, cheer for her at her high school graduation, drop her off at college, to watch her walk across that stage with her degree and soon after walk her down the aisle and give her away to her college sweetheart. He was there when she had her babies and bought her first house.
The dad he didn’t have to be.
He was the daddy to that little girl that she so desperately needed and the husband that single mom had longed for. God knew exactly what He was doing when He crossed those high school sweethearts’ paths once again. God’s plan all along was for this man to be an amazing, selfless, hard working, dedicated, loving and most Godly daddy to that little girl. The daddy he still is to her today.
The dad he doesn’t have to be.
The dad he didn’t have to be to ME.
That night my world was shattered, he was there. The last time I kissed my husband’s forehead before I had to say goodbye, he was there to hold my hand through it. When I was handed that folded flag… he was there to hug me. When I sobbed and didn’t believe I could go on he was there to hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay. When I couldn’t handle being a single mom of two incredibly broken boys he was there to help me through it. At every memorial and event that I’ve had to attend he has been there standing tall next to me. My strength to keep me up when so many times I just wanted to fall.
When I opened my heart again to love he was one of the first people I told. When I needed support, encouragement and prayer as I began a new chapter in my life he was there. When I married the love of my life, here on earth, he was there with a smile on his face and the most welcoming heart for his new son.
Thank you, Dad, for choosing me.
Thank you for being the dad you didn’t have to be.
