Read on Twitter
ππ§ π
πππ‘ππ«π‘π¨π¨π - π ππ‘π«πππ
What I share in this thread will be my own individual perspective, informed by my upbringing, religious views, culture, and experiences as a father of four.
Take any of it for what it is - one man's thoughts.
1/
What I share in this thread will be my own individual perspective, informed by my upbringing, religious views, culture, and experiences as a father of four.
Take any of it for what it is - one man's thoughts.
1/
Fatherhood does not begin at the time of birth.
The moment she tells a man that she is pregnant with his child, a bridge has been crossed.
He can flee, or he can embrace the gift that has been granted by the Father of all.
It is the beginning of a Man's journey.
2/
The moment she tells a man that she is pregnant with his child, a bridge has been crossed.
He can flee, or he can embrace the gift that has been granted by the Father of all.
It is the beginning of a Man's journey.
2/
Preparations begin, what may be called the "nesting phase".
Sleeping arrangements? Furniture? Clothing? Color of paint?
Practical questions, amplified by excitement and emotion.
And underlying it all, a touch of fear.
"Are we ready? Am I?", the new father asks.
3/
Sleeping arrangements? Furniture? Clothing? Color of paint?
Practical questions, amplified by excitement and emotion.
And underlying it all, a touch of fear.
"Are we ready? Am I?", the new father asks.
3/
She will grow. Her moods might shift a little more.
Her body is becoming unfamiliar.
New discomforts, new challenges.
In this time, a man learns to serve, to act solely for the benefit of another.
He is not carrying the child, so he must carry more than ever.
4/
Her body is becoming unfamiliar.
New discomforts, new challenges.
In this time, a man learns to serve, to act solely for the benefit of another.
He is not carrying the child, so he must carry more than ever.
4/
And despite the nausea, more frequent days with pajamas and messy hair, she is more radiant than ever before.
She is nurturing a unique treasure - the gift of an individual life. The life he and she created.
The father sees this, and learns that beauty is found in purpose.
5/
She is nurturing a unique treasure - the gift of an individual life. The life he and she created.
The father sees this, and learns that beauty is found in purpose.
5/
As the timeframe to receive this new life into the world approaches, the father undergoes a worldview shift, however subtle.
He sees potential danger more clearly.
He considers the implications of his own words and actions a little more deeply.
He is becoming the Alpha.
6/
He sees potential danger more clearly.
He considers the implications of his own words and actions a little more deeply.
He is becoming the Alpha.
6/
The duality of the Father of Creation is being formed within the father of the child.
Provider and Protector. The two halves of a true Patriarch.
She is growing a child.
The process is growing a Man.
He must become both sword and shield for his new Tribe.
7/
Provider and Protector. The two halves of a true Patriarch.
She is growing a child.
The process is growing a Man.
He must become both sword and shield for his new Tribe.
7/
On the big day, there's a flood of moments loaded with emotion:
Fear
Uncertainty
Excitement
Exhilaration
Exhaustion
Relief
Pain
Joy
She is fulfilling her purpose as a Woman, and the Man must sit on the sidelines, helpless and anxious.
He is learning the patience of pain.
8/
Fear
Uncertainty
Excitement
Exhilaration
Exhaustion
Relief
Pain
Joy
She is fulfilling her purpose as a Woman, and the Man must sit on the sidelines, helpless and anxious.
He is learning the patience of pain.
8/
But at the end, as she collapses to the bed exhausted and sweating and shaking from the shock to her system, he sees again that glorious beauty.
It shines from deep in her soul.
She has become a mother.
And he, at last, is a father.
Nothing will ever be the same.
9/
It shines from deep in her soul.
She has become a mother.
And he, at last, is a father.
Nothing will ever be the same.
9/
At home, the routines are different, alien.
There's a magnificent, maddening little bundle of need that commands constant attention.
Mom has the primary caretaker duties.
But the father must step up.
He is reminded again of the patient sacrifice forged in long nights.
10/
There's a magnificent, maddening little bundle of need that commands constant attention.
Mom has the primary caretaker duties.
But the father must step up.
He is reminded again of the patient sacrifice forged in long nights.
10/
And in those quiet moments late at night, rocking a baby to sleep, a man finds something in himself that he never knew existed - a deep, unshakeable connection to the divine Father Himself.
He is a Man reflecting the very spirit of that eternal Fatherhood.
11/
He is a Man reflecting the very spirit of that eternal Fatherhood.
11/
Children grow up. They begin to explore the world, tentatively at first, then with more abandon and energy.
The father, too, is given more opportunities to grow.
He must think, perhaps for the first time, how to explain the most basic skills.
He is now Teacher and Coach.
12/
The father, too, is given more opportunities to grow.
He must think, perhaps for the first time, how to explain the most basic skills.
He is now Teacher and Coach.
12/
This has a transformative effect on the man.
He begins to view the world through his child's eyes.
By explaining color, he sees it more richly.
By demonstrating how to skip, he feels the motion.
Everything old becomes new again.
He is now an Explorer.
13/
He begins to view the world through his child's eyes.
By explaining color, he sees it more richly.
By demonstrating how to skip, he feels the motion.
Everything old becomes new again.
He is now an Explorer.
13/
Becoming a father is the journey of becoming a Man.
"Man" is not some textbook definition of a "male", or a self-aggrandizing caricature of masculinity.
A Man is something more. He is the integration of many attributes, vastly complex, and forever a work in progress.
14/
"Man" is not some textbook definition of a "male", or a self-aggrandizing caricature of masculinity.
A Man is something more. He is the integration of many attributes, vastly complex, and forever a work in progress.
14/
He is blessed to know the sheer, unmitigated joy that comes from a laughing child clinging to him as they spin in circles, or dancing around the house with his daughter and her little friends, or teaching his son how to throw a baseball.
15/
15/
So, too, does he learn how to be a rock.
In times of loss, hardship, fear and doubt.
He is the father and the leader.
He cannot, MUST NOT, crumble under the pressure.
He learns to be fearless against the storm, to carry his Tribe's world on his back.
He is a Hero.
16/
In times of loss, hardship, fear and doubt.
He is the father and the leader.
He cannot, MUST NOT, crumble under the pressure.
He learns to be fearless against the storm, to carry his Tribe's world on his back.
He is a Hero.
16/
Thus does the Man begin a journey from that moment he hears he is to become a father. He first learns new skills, and then new roles.
Service
Patience
Compassion
Sacrifice
Provider
Protector
Teacher
Coach
Explorer
Hero
All that from one moment, and all the moments after.
17/
Service
Patience
Compassion
Sacrifice
Provider
Protector
Teacher
Coach
Explorer
Hero
All that from one moment, and all the moments after.
17/
He becomes a Patriarch.
He continues the unbroken lineage that led to his own existence, and honors his ancestors in so doing.
He forges a legacy.
To give oneself so totally in love and life to a family is to fulfill the highest calling of a Man.
He continues the unbroken lineage that led to his own existence, and honors his ancestors in so doing.
He forges a legacy.
To give oneself so totally in love and life to a family is to fulfill the highest calling of a Man.
I truly appreciate you taking the time to read. Thank you kindly.
