What I got my Wife for Father’s Day

Great healing and consolation can come from doing small acts of love.  Father’s Day is a day to honor and celebrate the wonderful father figures in our lives.  It offers us the opportunity to tell Dad we love him, miss him, or thank him for all he has done for us.  Hopefully we also call to mind God our Father who has given us every good gift!

This year, as I celebrated my first Father’s Day, I decided to honor my wife in a small but meaningful way.  Little did I know how quickly grace would be bestowed on me through the intercession of the “Mom and Dad” Saints in Heaven.  I simply got her a card and a banana walnut cake (one of her favorites).  In the card, I let her know that I love her and even though I am far from perfect, she is one of the main reasons I am the father I am.  I also had my 5 month old son sign the card and draw a picture (with a little help from me, of course).  This small gift meant so much to her! But the true gift came later that night at just the right moment.

This past year has been full of adjustments and challenges for my wife and I.  After being displaced from a home after several real estate deals fell apart and living with her parents, we hit the ground running.  In the past nine months, we have been blessed with buying and renovating a house, becoming pregnant, and learning how to be parents.  Now that Noah is born and maternity leave is up, we are faced with childcare costs and splitting time between work and home.  All of this paired with sleepless nights due to teething and the occasional illness has put strain on the relationship of this still new husband and wife.

Needless to say, there have been some serious transitions for us as we begin this new chapter of our lives together, but the one thing that remains constant is the love we share-a love that comes from God our Father.  On the night after Father’s Day, in the midst of a screaming baby and on the verge of losing my patience, I was blessed with one of the greatest consolations of my life.  For some reason I kept praying to those Mom and Dad saints—Mary and Joseph, Joachim and Anne, Monica, and any others I could think of.  I asked for their intercession so that I could not just get through that sleepless night, but to alter my thinking and how I approach my entire life.

As Noah kept crying, I became MORE patient and felt myself loving him more and more.  I felt, in a way, connected to St. Joseph. I thought about how much he must have helped out when Jesus was crying in the middle of the night.  I realized that by loving my son in this way, I am actually loving my wife and taking care of her needs as well.  I am living out my vocation.

Almost two months have passed since Father’s Day and I constantly find myself asking for help from those Mom and Dad Saints.  Not only have I grown spiritually, but the human side of sainthood is truly being illustrated through this practice.  So without trying to sound like I have it all together in the parenting department, allow me to bestow some wisdom on any new moms and dads out there.  You are not in control and never will be, but you are never without help! Dads, give your wife a gift on Father’s Day. Moms, do the same on Mother’s Day.  Love your children by loving each other and love each other by loving your children.  I believe that’s how the saints did it.  Who knows, one day young moms and dads may be asking for your intercession at 3am with a screaming baby in their arms.