A Father’s Day Tribute
“The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”
— Proverbs 20:7 (KJV)
Today is Father’s Day—a special day set aside to honor the fathers in our lives. Whether through blood, presence, or faith, this is a time to remember and celebrate the men who provide, who show up, and who do all they can to reflect the love of our Heavenly Father.
How I wish it were possible to spend time in my Daddy’s presence, give him a special gift, and tell him once again how much I love him and how grateful I am for the impact he had on my life. But he left for Heaven almost fifteen years ago, so today I must be content with honoring him through my memories.
As I reflect on the life of Wylie Malone, I realize his greatest gift was not one I fully appreciated at the time. It shaped not only my life, but also my understanding of God.
I rarely called him “Father.” He was always “Daddy,” and later, “Dad.” I have often thought how beautifully that reflects the biblical word Abba—a word of intimacy, trust, and love.
If our home were a church, he was the steeple. My parents took us to church often, taught us Bible stories, and introduced us to the God who loved us enough to send His Son. They were not perfect parents, nor did they claim to be. But they faithfully pointed us toward the One who is perfect and taught us to trust Him.
As the years passed, I began to recognize that many of the attributes I associated with my Heavenly Father were first demonstrated to me by my Daddy. Yet those qualities did not originate with him. Daddy had an intimate relationship with God and spent a lifetime walking with Him. The tenderness, compassion, faithfulness, and grace he demonstrated were reflections of the God he knew and served.
I never doubted his love for me. Not because he constantly spoke the words, but because of how he demonstrated it throughout my life. Unconditionally, and without obligation, he loved me simply because I was his daughter.
The greatest test of that love, however, came when I broke his heart.
As a young woman, I made choices that brought deep disappointment and pain to my family. In 1966, an unwed pregnancy carried a stigma that may be difficult to comprehend today. The shame was not viewed as belonging only to the young woman—it often extended to her entire family.
Daddy was shattered. Not only because of the agony I had brought upon myself, but also because of the loss of a grandchild he would never have the opportunity to hold—his first, gone without even knowing her name.
Many fathers in that era responded with anger, rejection, or condemnation. Daddy responded with compassion. Rather than adding to my shame, he loved me through one of the darkest seasons of my life.
More than any other experience, this one helped me understand the heart of my Heavenly Father, who meets us in our failures with grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love.
Another attribute I associate with both my Daddy and my Heavenly Father is discipline.
Daddy believed children should be taught obedience and responsibility. We knew there were rules to follow, and we understood that disobedience could bring consequences. Discipline was never about anger or humiliation. It was about training and correction.
I remember one occasion when I earned a spanking. I no longer remember what I had done, but I will never forget what happened afterward. Daddy pulled me into his lap, tears in his eyes, and told me how much he loved me and how difficult it had been for him to discipline me. What I remember most was not the punishment, but the love that followed it.
That moment taught me that discipline is not punishment for punishment’s sake. It is correction given by someone who loves you enough to guide you in the right direction. As I grew older, I came to understand that God’s discipline flows from that same kind of love.
Another gift Daddy gave me was the security of knowing I could count on him. From childhood and throughout my life, I knew that if I truly needed something and it was within his power to help, he would do everything possible to be there. I could count on him. He may not have had superpowers, but he was my hero.
He also worked tirelessly to support his family. Watching his example made it easier for me to trust God’s promise that He would never leave me nor forsake me and that He would provide for His children. In this I see the definition of integrity—not simply providing food and shelter, but creating a home where a family could grow and feel safe.
Lastly, we shared something precious—a relationship built on trust. We did not always agree, and we certainly had our faults. Yet there was never any question that we loved each other. I felt free to bring him my hopes, dreams, disappointments, and celebrations. As I grew in my own faith, I realized that God desires that same kind of relationship with His children.
It was not until years later that I realized how profoundly a father’s actions can influence the way a child views God.
I saw that truth through my daughter, Lisa.
For the first seven years of her life, Lisa was truly Daddy’s little princess. She adored her father, and he adored her. Then came separation and divorce. After we returned to Texas from George Air Force Base, communication became increasingly infrequent. There were long stretches without phone calls, letters, birthday cards, or Christmas gifts. At one point, four years passed with virtually no contact.
As a little girl, Lisa searched for reasons. She often blamed herself. Surely, she reasoned, there must be something she had done wrong. If it was not her fault, the alternative—that her daddy no longer loved her—was too painful to accept.
As she grew older, she told me more than once that she struggled to think of God as Father. She believed in God, but the title carried wounds rather than comfort. The hurt of feeling abandoned had colored her understanding of that relationship.
Watching Lisa’s struggle opened my eyes to something I had long taken for granted. Trusting God as my Heavenly Father came naturally to me because I had experienced many of those same qualities in my earthly father.
Through his love, compassion, discipline, faithfulness, and presence, Daddy reflected the character of the God he loved and served. Of all the things he accomplished during his lifetime, that may have been his greatest legacy to me.
This Father’s Day, I honor my Daddy for faithfully pointing me toward the Heavenly Father he loved and served.
A Closing Blessing
Whether your memories of your father bring gratitude, sorrow, or something in between, I pray you will remember this truth: God is not defined by the successes or failures of earthly fathers.
Some of us were blessed with fathers who reflected God’s love well. Others were not. Some carry precious memories, while others carry wounds that still ache.
Yet regardless of our earthly experiences, God invites each of us into a relationship with Him. He longs to be our Daddy—the One we trust, run to, depend upon, and find security in.
No earthly father can perfectly reflect His love. Even the best fathers fall short. But God never does.
This Father’s Day, my prayer is that you will experience the love of the perfect Father who knows you completely, loves you unconditionally, and will never let you go.
May you discover the comfort, security, and peace that come from resting in the arms of your Heavenly Father—the One who has loved you from the beginning and will never let you go.
Happy Father’s Day
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