A few months ago Jan and I had a chance to catch up with some of our favorite shows. So we plowed through three of them…and to my surprise, all three had to do with dads, their adult sons, and the father blessing.
The first show was Castle. Richard Castle grew up not knowing his father. He knew nothing about him. In that episode we found out why. His dad is a spy for the US Government and, to protect his son, he needed to stay out of his life. Their meeting was brief, but just as Castle was about to leave his dad, his dad blessed him, telling his son that he loved him and that he is proud of him.
The second show was White Collar. Neil grew up without a dad. He had been told that his dad was a dirty cop. Last season, dad came back into his life. Neil eventually discovered that his dad had been framed. Now dad and son are trying to clear dad’s name. In one scene from that episode, Neil blows up at his dad for not being there for him. As his dad is about to walk out the door, he tells Neil that he loves him and that he is proud of him.
The third show was Psych. Shawn and his retired cop dad have a contentious relationship. They truly love and respect each other but they don’t often show it. Part of the challenge is that they approach life so differently. Last season ended with Shawn’s dad being shot. In this first episode of the “new” season, near the end, as Shawn sat by his now recuperating dad, dad told Shawn he loved him.
After watching one show after another with a climatic scene between dad and his adult son ending with the father blessing, I turned to my wife and said, “There must be a bunch of young adult men writing these shows, longing for a father blessing!”
In a world where 40% of boys grow up without dad in his life for a period of time, in a world where the majority of boys don’t ever hear dad say, “I love you! I’m proud of you!” these shows should not be surprising.
Let’s change that storyline. Lets empower dads to pour the blessing into their sons. And for those sons without a dad, let’s bless them in the name of the Father who loves them and is proud of them.
Searching For Tom Sawyer 