“One-on-one time with my daughter? She does not even want to be in the same room with me!” But in response to a challenge presented to all the dads participating in the study, Joe agreed to at least ask his daughter out on a date. That in itself was a big step because there were about twenty men in the study that would be holding him accountable. The bottom line was that he thought she would surely say ‘No’ and he would have to face rejection again. No man likes rejection be it a high school date or a date with his daughter.
The following week, the dads provided a debrief of the one-on-one time with their kids. Joe stepped forward and said, “When I asked my daughter if she would go out to dinner with me, like a date, just the two of us, she said ‘Yes’. I think I said something like, ‘Really?’ And she said, ‘Sure Dad.’ We did go to dinner at a restaurant of her choice later in the week and we actually talked. She talked about school, boys and our family. And I told her about some of the things we discuss in this study. It was a wonderful evening and it ended with the best hug I have gotten since she was just a little girl.” Through the tears, he said they would be going out again soon.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” – Matthew 4:1-3. Forty days and forty nights provided quantity Father-Son time! Time fasting, praying and communing with His Father prepared Jesus well for the three years of ministry before Him. He knew who He was, Whose He was, what He was to do, how it was going to play out and why it was important to the Father. One might think that the devil’s temptation caught Jesus at his weakest moment but in fact it may have been one of His strongest. His Dad just invested extended One-on-One time with Him providing clarity for His walk on this earth. The Son was strong and rebuked the temptation to take His eyes off the Father.
The temptation is for dads to back out as kids develop their circle of friends. But the fact is that one-on-one father-daughter and father-son time provides critical reinforcement for the foundational relationships nurtured in family. Be it the occasional date night, weekend retreat or a more extended adventure together, quantity time is the investment that secures connection relationally as the kids mature. That connection prepares kids for the journey called life and empowers them to rebuke the temptation to take their eyes off Jesus.
Prayer guide: Thank You Lord for always being available. The quantity time spent with You as I read Your Word, fast and pray has encouraged and equipped me in this role as a father. Thank You for the glimpses of Your glory shown through time spent with kids on dates, retreats and hiking adventures. Relationships mature beautifully as dads invest quantity time with their kids. Through Your Son You reconnected what got disconnected in the Garden of Eden, our relationship with You. Work through me as Your representative in family to secure that connection through the next generation. Amen.
A faithful father invests quantity one-on-one time to prepare kids for life.
