The other night I couldn’t sleep so I was flipping through the channels before I finally came across something decent to watch. I ended up stopping on the movie Courageous, which I had seen before and enjoyed the first time I watched it. It was getting late, but I couldn’t stop watching. The movie had me hooked.
When the movie was over and time for bed I still couldn’t sleep. Some lines in the movie stuck with me and kept running through my head. The first line that was on my mind was when one of the male characters was talking about fatherhood and how he didn’t want to just be a good enough father anymore; he wanted to be the best father he could be. That got me thinking. Am I settling for just being a good-enough father or am I being the best father I can be? After examining my conscious, I found that I have some room for improvement and that I need to make some changes in how I am parenting. Why put off that dance with your daughter or shooting hoops with your son? You may not get another chance to enjoy them, and in a blink of an eye they could be gone.
The other line that stuck with me that I really struggled with went something like this: I will be the spiritual leader in my home. So again I thought through that statement, and lo and behold, I didn’t like the conclusion I came back with. I don’t walk the walk as to being the spiritual leader in my household. I found that I don’t always follow through and pray with my family. I pray and read scripture, and I know that my wife also does, but why don’t we find the time to do this together? My children need to see us praying, not just before meals or while at Mass, but together as a family.
How could I have let this happen? If I don’t take the time to show and teach them, who will? It is up to me to show them and to guide them to the best life possible. Below is part of the resolution from the movie:
I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children. I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home. I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me. I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.I hope that you will also examine your life; maybe there is room for improvement for you as well. If you have never seen the movie Courageous I would highly recommend you do. Maybe some parts of the movie will stick with you also.
God bless,
Jim
For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ.
Philippians 1:20
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