Food for Your Soul: Inspirational Quotes About Fathers

Too often the role of father is passed over in our society. Despite their immense worth, dads are undervalued today. Children need their papas as much as they need their mamas. That's why we have Father's Day and Mother's Day, is it not? Traditionally, the father was the provider and protector, but today daddies are becoming more in touch with their nurturing side. When we think of daddy, we think of playing catch outside with a baseball or the father daughter dance at a wedding. Your dad has as much to teach you as anyone in this world. Here are some quotes to honor fathers as they deserve.

It Ain't Easy!

"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father." - Pope John XXIII

"It is much easier to become a father than to be one." - Kent Nerburn

Setting an Example

"He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." - Clarence Budington Kelland

"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." - Anne Sexton

"Parents can tell but never teach, unless they practice what they preach." - Arnold Glasow

"Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example instead of his advice."

Humor

"A father carries pictures where his money used to be."

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." - Mark Twain

"There are three stages of a man's life: he believes in Santa Clause, he doesn't believe in Santa Clause, he is Santa Claus."

Gifts He Gives

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." - Sigmund Freud

"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us." - Umberto Eco

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me." - Amy Heckerling

Love

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!" - Lydia M. Child

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty."

"Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance." - Ruth E. Renkel

His Value

"Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name." - William Wordsworth

"The love of a father is one of nature's greatest masterpieces."

"It's clear that most American children suffer too much mother and too little father." - Gloria Steinem

Miscellaneous

"It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping." - John Sinor

"There's no pillow quote so soft as a father's strong shoulder." - Richard L. Evans

"Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers." - David Gottesman

"My father was often angry when I was most like him." - Lillian Hellman

In Summation...

"A dad is someone who
wants to catch you before you fall
but instead picks you up,
brushes you off,
and lets you try again.

A dad is someone who
wants to keep you from making mistakes
but instead lets you find your own way,
even though his heart breaks in silence
when you get hurt.

A dad is someone who
holds you when you cry,
scolds you when you break the rules
shines with pride when you succeed,
and has faith in you even when you fail..."

I hope these quotes have touched the hearts of all of my readers. Those who have fathers, be thankful for them. Those who are fathers, know that you deserve gratitude. For men who are not yet fathers, may you someday know the joy of fatherhood. And for those who do not have fathers, be all the more grateful to your mothers for having fulfilled so many roles! Let us no longer value the mother over the father, for mom and dad are both important. The Bible says to honor both your father and your mother. Please do, Christian or not!