Dads - Tell Stories!
About ten years ago, my children, who are now teenagers, began asking me to tell them a story.
I was petrified by their innocent request. Truly flummoxed.
Growing up, I wasn’t the storyteller. My dad was. My older brother was. My uncles were. They were all amazing! Tales of “Old Dry Fry” and “The Dumpmaster” still echo in my memory. I couldn’t hold a candle to them and had never really even wanted to try. But, what was I to do when my sweet little girls looked at me with their big eyes and asked me for a story?
I’m oh-so-thankful that I didn’t just put on a TV show for them. I’m even glad that I didn’t pull down one of my favorite books to read aloud. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a good TV show (and even some not-so-good ones) and I think that children who go through life without hearing Lewis, Tolkien, and even Gordon Korman read aloud were robbed (not really). But I am grateful that, when asked for a story, I tried.
I told my girls the story of the Three Little Pigs.
Dads - you can do this. You can tell your kids the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. Don’t poo-poo fairy tales. They’re great. Like it or hate it, Disney built an empire on the back of fairy tales.
Over time, my Three Little Pigs grew into the Three Little Princesses. Then, new worlds were born as I got more comfortable. Today, telling stories is one of my favorite things to do. But I never would have gotten here if I hadn’t tried to answer the call.
I think that the call on fathers to tell their children stories has great power and influence. The storyteller creates and frames a world for his hearers. He forms the space and fills it with characters. He directs the action of the protagonists and antagonists. Though there may be danger, dragons, evil witches, and embraced temptations, the one telling the story remains in control. He is the author. In all of this, there are potent echoes of reality.
When we dads stand before that most accepting of audiences - our own children - we join a long line of men who have stood, like Professor Tolkien, with their backs to their own hearths, filling their children’s lives with truth and meaning.
It’s a powerful privilege to be a dad. When your little ones ask you to tell them a story, brush up on the basics of an old favorite, keep it simple, and tell them …
“Once upon a time…”
Love you guys.
