“I kept the dogs, but I lost my boys”
We rounded off the maiden edition of the FATHERHOOD FOR FRESHERS course (FFF) Friday, last week with a parting gift to the participants from one of our learning philosophies; “Pocket change”.
Please, read with me :
Out of history comes the story of a preacher whose two sons talked him into taking in a stray dog.
The dog was black except for three distinctive white hairs on his tail. A day came, they saw an advert in a newspaper for a lost dog which fit the dog’s description perfectly, including the white hairs.
With the connivance of his boys, the preacher carefully pulled out the three white hairs. The owner later heard this preacher had a dog that fit his dog’s description and travelled over to look for it. Upon the arrival of the owner, the dog showed every sign of recognizing him. The owner wanted to take the dog home, but he hesitated.
The preacher then asked; “didn’t you say your dog had three white hairs on his tail?” The owner was forced to leave when he couldn’t find the hairs. Those young boys watched the dad’s deception at work. Later, the preacher wrote;
“I kept the dogs, but I lost my boys”
The names of these boys were infamous criminals as adults – Frank and Jesse James.
During their childhood, their dad was not able to positively influence them, regardless of how good his sermons were. Why? There was a hole in his pocket and he lost all of his change unknown to him because his sons still hung around him but with no respect whatsoever for him.
Pls, keep this in mind as fresh fathers; there is a difference between being liked as a friend and being followed as a father. If kids don’t respect you, you won’t lead them
The next Fatherhood For Freshers course comes up in July, 2022
Thank you to all the participants who shared their life with our faculty.
#legacyhut