Taking out the trash

You continually toss out the trash. You are keeping things clean and even working on your personal life. As a father, you are making better decisions and being mindful of the time you spend with your children. It’s quality time. The dude abides!

Then from out of nowhere the garbage man returns, dumping the past 3 years of trash onto your front lawn. It’s a mountain of grimy, sewage-smelling rot. Worse yet, your neighbors, friends and family are in awe of the fishy stench. Seems far-fetched, huh?

Well, have you ever had anyone from your past come up to you at an inopportune time and bring up an embarrassing story? Or, the old friends you used to run with are coming around again, inviting you to hang out. There is nothing wrong with that, right?

Well, hopefully, as an abiding dad, you are beginning to take your role seriously and not making visits to your past. But, sometimes your past comes back for a visit. What to do?

The Garbage Man

If you were preparing for a battle, a war, it would be imperative to know who your enemy is and what his tactics are on the battlefield. It’s also important to know that in your life, you have a real enemy out there, not necessarily your past friends, but an accuser. This enemy knows a lot about you and one of his most effective tactics is to drudge up your stinky past. For now, we’ll just call him ‘The Garbage Man’. And our warning is for you to be keen to his voice and ignore some of his favorite phrases: ‘You aren’t good enough’, ‘You haven’t changed’, ‘You’re a failure as a father’, ‘You’ve let everyone down’.

Remember, you are loved and you are not a failure. Oh, you’ve failed and will again, but a man who takes on his role as father seriously and is willing to work at being a better dad; he is a huge success!