I was able to catch a sermon at Highland Community Church by Rob Strickland this last week and it caught me off guard.  The concept was a review of the top 10 list of what children want for Christmas.  Of course there is the common things such as iPhones, iPad and other games and technology. Those things did not surprise me.

There were some interesting ones such as a horse, a time machine and even brothers and sisters.  The list was compiled in Europe and published on “The Telegraph” website.  To check out the article, click here.  The most interesting, heart-breaking thing that struck me was the #10 desire of children…. it was “a dad”. That’s right, a dad! Can you grasp that?

I can sure relate to the desire of wanting a dad.  At the time when i was 9, my dad died and my world changed for ever. Not saying it was a model household prior to his heart attack, but there were still hopes of something better.  When the death happen, the concept of the hope of dad turning it around and being there for me just evaporated.

The children are so open and honest in their desires and as we get older we tend to just bite our tongue and suppress our real feelings.  I think we can all relate to the epidemic of broken homes. I find it also heart breaking that the American media would rather report on the Kardashian’s or Obama-care or some negative, screwed up thing going on. But yet they avoid the obvious.

For you father’s out there, I want to encourage you guys to be available for your children.  Don’t worry so much about being perfect, just be real. Let them know you struggle, let them see how you work through challenges.  Show them how to make plans. Teach them how to say “no” to some things, so you can have other things. Just be real, live with them, love them.  Notice that they don’t ask for a perfect dad. They want a dad that tries. Even if he fails, he is there!

For you guys that have kids that have grown or don’ t have kids, be available to others kids. There are kids all around us, in churches, in the neighborhood, at family gatherings, we can be representative of Christ to so many if we become available.  Let us embrace this as an opportunity to love God’s children.