Have I ever told you that I have a great dad? Not a perfect dad, but a great one.
He spent hours with me in our shed, in our yard, and at the gym trying to help me figure out how to shoot a free throw and for Pete’s sake how to serve a volleyball over the net. That took a lot of patience on his part…because let’s just say I’m not a natural athlete. (I’m not any kind of athlete, really.) I have fond memories of him running beside me at every track meet while I was warming up to run the half mile race. He would always come straight from working in the field, so his pliers would still be in his pocket. As he ran beside me and gave me a pep talk before the race, his pliers would bounce up and down on his belt. I can still hear the sound of his pliers while he jogged beside me.
My dad taught me a lot about the Bible…how to talk to people…how to see people’s needs and try to meet them.
Here’s what I’m realizing: My dad has always been great at giving advice.
You want to know the greatest advice my dad ever gave me? When I was playing “the dating game” in college and getting so frustrated with the whole thing, I asked him, “Dad, are my expectations just too high? Am I looking for a guy who just doesn’t exist?”
He told me this, “Laura, you aren’t the kind of girl that boys want to date. You’re the kind of girl that they want to marry. Don’t compromise on the kind of man you’re looking for. Don’t ever compromise. There is someone out there that is exactly what you want.”
I loved the advice, but still didn’t really think that there was anyone out there in this whole wide world that would meet my expectations for a husband. Still, I held onto my dad’s advice not to compromise. I didn’t want to date around anymore feeling like, “Well, this guy is great, except for (fill in the blank).”
It wasn’t long before Matt and I began dating. I could tell from the beginning of our relationship that he was different. And…it didn’t take long to realize that he was the definition of “exactly what I wanted in a husband.” With no compromising.
When my dad walked me down the aisle on my wedding day and handed me over to Matt, I know he did it with confidence. Not only did I find just what I’d been looking for in a husband, my dad found exactly what he’d been looking for in a son-in-law.
Not compromising was the best advice I ever took.
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What a great Father’s day tribute to both!
Blessings
Reading this gave me goosebumps. Thank you for sharing. My dad looked out for me too, wanting to protect me from just “any ole guy”. Fathers are special in just their own way.
Thank you so much for sharing, I too have a great father and he still is a wonderful dad even thru I am now a grown woman, and I too have a wonderful hubby. Thanks so much for your wonderful blog you are an inspiration to all homemakers and women around the world, Be blessed
I love this post! What a great way to remind us to be thankful for what we have.
I can’t wait to see you and your special guys in a few weeks!
I’m giggling just a little at your dating in college and looking for the right guy…marriage did not even enter my mind in college…it was several years after college before I was ready for that! And it’s a good thing since i didn’t meet Brian until after college — I would have been getting so frustrated!! =)
I loved your post about your Daddy! So sweet :)
On this lovely Tuesday I am very thankful for my strawberry patch. It was here when we bought our home and on Sunday afternoon my two oldest kiddos and I picked all of the yummy berries. I kept thinking about how God told the Israelites that he would give them fields and vineyards they didn’t plant.. Very appropriate story for our situation. So while picking berries my kids and I talked about that and how amazing God’s blessings are. Sweet, teaching moments with my babies! It was great!
Thank you Laura for your post about picking berries with your son. It inspired me to do the same!!!!
PS: We made freezer jam from the berries as soon as we picked them and it tastes AWESOME!!! Yeah!!!!
LOVE your dad’s advice! Think that is something we will pass along to our girls! Thanks for sharing!
This is exactly wanted I needed to hear, thank you so much for sharing! You never know what your readers are going thru.
“He told me this, “Laura, you aren’t the kind of girl that boys want to date. You’re the kind of girl that they want to marry. Don’t compromise on the kind of man you’re looking for. Don’t ever compromise. There is someone out there that is exactly what you want.””
congrats on completing your book! When I finished my first I felt great too, then I turned around and loaded the laundry and ran out to pick the kids up from school! hehe, not what I envisioned. I does feel great though.
What a beautiful post! I did not have the most honorable father, but this serves as a great reminder of how important my husbands influence is on our two daughters. He gives our girls everything I wish my father had given me, and its so healing to know my girls wont ever have to lack for an upstanding Christian Daddy!!
Loved this post, Laura. I can so relate. My dad is 88 now and we live 2000 miles apart, so I don’t get to see my parents much, but he still writes letters and always has. (He’d rather do that than talk on the phone.)
I had to wait until I was 32 before I met my no compromise man. We married a day before his 37th birthday, which was one day before my dad’s birthday! How cool is that? I’m glad you listened to your dad.
That brought tears to my eyes. I would wish that every girl could have a dad that would share time and advice, Godly advice with their daughters. Praise the Lord for Godly men in our lives!
Oh my goodness! That post made me cry! How sweet! I love the tender relationship between father and daughter. Your post made me relive the last moment as a single woman with my daddy on my arm about to walk down the aisle. Brings a tear to my eye every time!
What a precious thing for your father to do! WOW! Very, very touching! Thank U for sharing with us!
Encourages me as a mother!!!
I love your post! I am SO grateful for my Dad as well. Have a great week.
My eyes are misty now. What a beautiful post and a beautiful relationship you have with your father.