Fa·ther's Day

noun

1. the third Sunday in June, a day on which fathers are particularly honored by their children, especially with gifts and greeting cards.

For some people, Father's Day may not mean a day of grilling out with your dad and celebrating how awesome he is. Some have father's who have passed away, or, if you're like me, may not have a father in the picture to "honor." Anyone who does not want to be in their child's life doesn't deserve to be in it, honestly.

But also like me, people may have other figures in their lives to honor on "Father's" Day. I put father in quotes because it may be an uncle, a grandpa, a mom like mine who has played both parts wonderfully, or another male figure in their lives who they look up to and honor.

As a side note, I'd like to take a minute to dispel the thought that all boys, or any children for that matter, "need" a father. I do not think the ridiculous "need" for a father should lead to a child observing a selfish, abusive, neglectful man. A father figure should be someone who is respectful, selfless and can teach a child to grow up to give back to the world and expect nothing in return.

A very specific description, I know, but this is how I was raised. As I said, my mom has raised my brother and I in a way that, I feel, makes us a good asset to society. We didn't have our fathers in our lives, and we are much better for it. But what we were also blessed with was the role model of all role models: our papa.

Now, my papa is a very special man. When people say girls should look for husbands like their fathers, I will look for a husband like my papa. He is humble, selfless, kind, respectable, a man of God, and puts his family above anything in his life. He is my best friend and my role model, and I work to make him proud every day.

In October of 2015, my world was rocked when my favorite person on Earth was diagnosed with acute leukemia. For those who do not know, acute means you have skipped stages 1-4 and the cancer is rapidly moving. My papa was 71 years old at the time, and had already had lymphoma, another type of cancer, six or seven years before this. He spent the month of October in the hospital receiving intensive chemotherapy, a painful and extremely unpleasant experience. The chances he would survive were very slim.

Now, you probably think this story has a sad ending. But I forgot to mention something in the wonderful qualities my papa holds: he is a fighter. By the grace of God, he now has less than 1% of cancer in his blood. 1%!!! That's going from thousands of rapidly multiplying cancer cells to less than 1% in his entire blood stream. If I didn't believe in miracles before, I do now. Sure, he has to do chemo once a month the rest of his life, but God has a plan for my papa, and dying from this ugly disease was not it. Whenever people in our community ask how he's doing, he humbly replies, "Oh, I'm doing as well as I can be." If I were him, I would be screaming from the rooftops, "I AM ALIVE AND KICKED CANCER'S ASS, I'M DOING GREAT!!". But that's just not how he is. Always humble, always gentle, always thankful for the life God granted him.

I don't tell you this story to tell you about how awesome my papa is (although he is awesome), or to initiate sympathy, or anything of that nature. I tell you this story so you don't forget about ALL the male figures you admire when Father's Day rolls around. Even if you are fortunate enough to have a loving father in your life, don't forget about the other men who have helped shape you to who you are today. As sad as it is, we never really realize and appreciate the affect someone has on our lives until we are in fear of losing them.

So happy Father's Day to the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, brothers, godfathers, mentors, teachers and role models. And to the Father of all Father's, our Lord and Savior, who so loved the world he set the highest example of selflessness by giving his only son to die for us.

Honor those in your life you feel have made a difference on who you have become. And don't forget that even if you don't have a traditional father, you can still celebrate the day.