The 4 P's That Make My Father Great

Priest:  My dad wasn’t Catholic, but there wasn’t the slightest doubt whether or not he was praying on behalf of our family.  Before he went into remission with lymphoma in the mid 90’s, I remember him crying out to God on his bedside as I was listening in the room next door.

Prophet: My dad took every opportunity for my brother and I to provide teachable moments. From a very early age, he implanted in us a biblical worldview through every life situation. I can remember him filling the margins of his Bible full of notes during church and leading our family with the harness of scripture. He was truly a mouthpiece of God for his family.

Provider: We always had enough and we were never in need. Both of my parents were schoolteachers so we had to get pretty creative to go on summer vacations and get state of the art resources. Every summer, the Logan family went on vacation in a Ford Econoline van with a CB radio and an air conditioner window unit in the back: I think we’ve stayed at every KOA campground in the Southeast. I remember waking up in Pigeon Forge one morning soaking wet after the air conditioner leaked on me all nigh. However, those times were some of the greatest memories of my childhood.

In the mid 80’s, The Encyclopedia World Book was “The Thing” to have, but they were pretty expensive.  So, one summer, dad went to work with Encyclopedia and sold just enough sets that we were able get a free set at home. Brad and I were so excited: especially about the “goofy” children’s version.

Protector: Every child thinks his dad is an immortal superhero. I didn’t think any differently. He was the epitome of masculinity: after all, he was a football coach with a mustache who drank his coffee black.  After seeing the fear in the eyes of his football players after he chewed em out, I knew he deserved respect from me. The only thing my teachers had to do to control my behavior was threaten me to call my dad: nothing else required. Consequently, I knew he was there to protect me from any situation anywhere as long as I made biblically wise decisions. There was nothing cowardice about him: he protected me many times even when I didn’t know I was in danger.

The list could go on and on because he is truly a great father.