“Any man can be a father
but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
-Anne Geddes
With Father’s Day coming up in a few days, I wanted to write to all of you adoptive dads-to-be. You’ll be celebrating Father’s Day yourself just a short while from now!
“I talk and talk and talk, and I haven’t taught people in 50 years what my father taught by example in one week.”
-Mario Cuomo
The role you’re about to have is one of the most influential roles you’ll ever have. And it starts long before your baby has been placed in your arms.
Your future son will mirror your actions as their father, and watch your every move for guidance to help make him into the man he’ll become. And your future daughter will watch you as her role model to help out when she chooses the boys to date and the type of man she’ll marry.
Clarence Budington Kelland said, “My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” Consider what your children will observe from you.
Are you feeling overwhelmed? I hope not. It is a big responsibility, so remember that God is on your side. He wants to guide and inspire you to become the father and husband He wants you to be.
Father’s Day is a great time to pray about the areas of improvement you might have. The Lord will lead you to your children who’ll look to you for guidance and trust their little lives in your hands. You’ll become an instrument which God uses in their lives.
So how do you grow into the best father and role model possible? By making God your teacher, and recognizing that His authority should rule everything you do. As a dad, one of your duties will be to teach your children Scripture and love and kindness for their mother.
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.”
-Proverbs 22:6
The habits you’re forming today become the qualities in building your future child’s hero. I encourage you never to give up and to remember the important role you’ll play in your child’s life. When you feel doubt, turn to God for direction. My prayer for you, the adoptive dads-to-be, is that you have strength and faith in your path towards becoming a Godly father.
God bless you and know we are praying for you and your adoption,
Mardie Caldwell
Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P., is nationally recognized as an expert on open adoption. A Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P.), Caldwell is the founder of Lifetime Adoption Center, established in 1986. She has assisted in over 2,000 successful adoptions and was one of the first adoption professionals on the Internet.
Caldwell's life work is dedicated to educating and helping birth parents find the right adoptive parents for their child. She spreads the word about modern adoption through speaking appearances, webinars, online resources, and as a podcast show host.
She has written several award-winning books, including So I Was Thinking About Adoption, the first book of its kind. There are many reasons women choose adoption, and this short book is a comprehensive resource to make the best plan for you and your baby. Caldwell wrote So I Was Thinking About Adoption as a handy guide to the details of the adoption process.
Caldwell has made over 150 media appearances, including ABC News, CBS News, Larry King Live, CNN Headline News, NBC's The Today Show, CNN's The Campbell Brown Show, NBC News, KGO Newstalk Radio, CNN's Black in America II, MSNBC, Fox, PBS, BBC, and Dr. Laura.
