On a personal note – I feel blessed almost beyond words to express
the privilege of knowing God the Father of us all, my own Father (now
deceased) who was born in 1894, and my Husband. As years go by, I
realize more and more the trust in God and true nobility of character,
and the concern for all of creation, that my Father and my Husband
share.
I pray that humans can begin to acknowledge that other animals have a
God-given right to enjoy their lives, also. Animals are not to be owned
and exploited. They have an intrinsic worth granted to them by God.
Humans do not have the right to deny this basic right. God will not long
endure the horrendous, increasing, out-of-control exploitation of His
creatures who are denied their basic rights at the hands of humans who
were to be stewards.
Now for a little background on the origin of Father’s Day in this
country:
In 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon when
the idea of a Father’s Day occurred to her. Mrs. Dodd’s father, William
Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife died while
giving birth to their sixth child. Alone, he raised his six children on
a farm in the state of Washington.
As an adult, Mrs. Dodd, wanting to honor her father for his
selflessness, chose her father’s birth month, June, for the first
Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington. The date was June 19,
1910.
It took several years before Father’s Day would become established as
a permanent national observance. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge
supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then in 1926, a National
Father's Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father's Day was
recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1966 President
Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd
Sunday of June as Father's Day; and finally, in 1972, with President
Richard Nixon’s signature, the third Sunday of June became the official
Father’s Day.
Here is a poem for Father’s Day:
What Makes A Dad
Author unknown –
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The
warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of
nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power
of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a
mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then
God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He
knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad.
