He had not made one of his daughter’s events or a parent-teacher conference through the third grade. He was busy establishing himself with the company, climbing the corporate ladder. Now, busy-ness was putting strain on the family and his “little girl” was growing up quickly.

The dad saw an advertisement for a hiking and backpacking trip for dads and teenage daughters. He was naively looking for something to fix what he had failed at, establishing a strong relationship with his daughter. The trip was an outdoor adventure that incorporated physical challenges with some Bible study sessions, that in turn set up one-on-one father-daughter discussion times.

After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and settling on Him, and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said, “If You are …” – Matthew 3:16-4:3. On the heels of the empowering blessing from His Father, Jesus spent forty days in intimate connection with His Father through prayer and fasting. While the natural perspective is to think how famished and vulnerable Jesus was physically, the spiritual perspective is that the one-on-one time His Dad prepared Him well for battle with the devil. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” … And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will but as You will.” … He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass away unless I drink from it, Your will be done.” – Matthew 4:36, 39 & 42. On the heels of the second blessing from His Father at the transfiguration, Jesus spent one-on-one time in prayer with His Dad and came away with clarity and power to obey His Father to the point of death, even death on a cross. As dads invest one-on-one time with their kids, a generation will glean clarity and power to navigate through the noise of this world and glorify the Father on the journey.

The dad learned quickly that there are no easy “fixes” for relationships wounded by wrong priorities. There are only markers that hopefully improve the trajectory for how the relationship will move forward. The markers for this dad over a number of years have incorporated times of confession, forgiveness, reconciliation and blessing. The hiking trip proved to be a catalyst for change. The dad committed to scheduling regular one-on-one time with each child.

Prayer guide: Lord, thank You for Your word and the example You provide in Scripture. I confess that I defined my role as father to be a financial provider and disciplinarian as needed. Forgive me. Your example of the one-on-one Father-Son time that provided the clarity and power for Jesus’ journey gives dads the template for providing the next generation with the clarity and power needed to navigate through this world and glorify You on their journey. Grant me strength and boldness to follow Your example with my children. That is the dad You call me to be, and that is the dad my kids need to see. Amen.

A faithful father schedules regular one-on-one time with each child.