It does my heart good on Father's Day to look around TLC and see sober fathers.
I've heard some of these men's stories. And they spoke of their own fathers - who were addicts or alcoholics. Violent men who set a poor example for them while they were children. Men who abused their mothers and were sometimes absent because they were in prison.
Some of their fathers gave them their first drink or drug. Taught them to steal, fight, and be violent.
Still others never knew their fathers because of divorce or abandonment.
Today I see men who've stuck around TLC for ten years and longer. They've married and now have young children.
They're there for the children, nurturing them, spoiling them. Their mothers have never taken them to visit their dad in jail. They've never seen dad smoke substances, drink alcohol, or beat their mothers.
When I look at these men's lives I see how the blessings of recovery are filtering into the lives of their children.
And these children will grow up with an idea of what a father should be.
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