I’ll tell you this… Generally, I love being a Dad.

Whether it be shooting hoops with my son, watching Marvel series with my daughter, or going to the baseball game with both, the time I have with my kids is special and invaluable.

But then there are those times when being a Dad isn’t so fun. In fact, it’s kind of awful.

See, my son has a bearded dragon named Stitch. He’s been my son’s pet for 10 years now and has become a bit of a household fixture. Lizards aren’t for everybody I understand, but for my son Hunter, Stitch is a special little guy.

Last Sunday Hunter came to me and said he was concerned that something was wrong with his little buddy.

He was sluggish.
He wasn’t eating.

He didn’t even care about the crickets we had just dumped into his tank.

I was worried.

After a few days it became clear that something was very wrong. Then we noticed that he had a large bump in his stomach. Long story short – it turned out Stitch has cancer and we are just buying time until he’s no longer with us and my son.

Hunter was crushed.

This was HIS first pet. Yes, we’ve had family dogs and stuff, but Stitch was just his. 

As I sat there watching my son holding his lizard crying my heart broke. Nothing is worse than seeing your child in pain (physical or emotional) and knowing there is nothing you can do about it.

At that moment, being a Dad was not very fun or enjoyable. It was downright painful.

But do you know what’s worse?

When your child experiences pain that you know could have been avoided. When it’s their mistakes or disobedience that leads to horrible consequences they now have to endure. 

When it comes to our kids we are caretakers. We need to protect and nurture them while doing our best to guide them towards the best decisions.

Sometimes they listen.
Sometimes they don’t.

And that’s just life. 

But we still have the responsibility to at least warn them about the potential trouble we see brewing around the corner.

This is why when it comes to sex and porn we can’t afford to not talk to them about this stuff.

We need to create homes and a family culture that welcomes these discussions so we have the opportunity to speak into their life and hopefully help them navigate their sexual decisons in a better and heathier manner. Because if we don’t, trouble will be at their doorstep before you know it.

And you know what’s worse than seeing your child in self-induced pain knowing you can do nothing about it?

Knowing that you could have helped prevent that situation if you had just had the guts to say something.

Being a Dad is fun.
Being a Dad is a privilege.
Being a Dad is incredibly rewarding.

But being a Dad carries a lot of responsibility and requires us to sometimes jump into healthy conversations with our kids that at times might be awkward, difficult, and even embarrassing.

Because if we don’t, we’ll have to watch their pain from the sidelines. 

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