Information Related to "Playing the 'Dad Card'"
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Some time ago my adult daughter wrote asking me to play what she called the "dad card." If you knew my free-spirited daughter, you would understand that this is not a common occurrence. She has grown up to be a confident young woman quite capable of managing her own life, no matter where she happens to be.
Later she confided that her confidence draws from the fact that she has the "dad card" up her sleeve that can be played in the unlikely event she might need it.
The "dad card" defined
The "dad card" symbolizes the strong relationship that should exist between every father and daughter-a relationship that endows her with the sure knowledge that she can invoke her father's name and intrinsic authority to seek protection, comfort or security in time of threat or need.
It's a relationship that must be built over time; it's a relationship that will be tested during the stormy teenage years. Its strength is critical to her development and maturity because studies repeatedly show that you as a father matter more to your daughter than any other man.
On that day it mattered and she played the "dad card." This experience caused me to think more deeply about the continual importance of the relationship between a father and his daughter. Do we value this relationship? More importantly, for me, had I given it enough ongoing attention?
The prophet Malachi highlights the importance of the father-child relationship in our time by prophesying that the "hearts of the fathers" must be turned "to the children" and the "hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:6).
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Sidebar: Secrets of Strong Fathers
Table of Contents that includes "Playing the 'Dad Card'"
Other Articles by John Miller
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