Unconditional Love: A Dad Moment

I remember a moment with my father that cemented the principle of unconditional love when raising greatness. My first bike was built from a discarded frame my dad saw in a trash pile. I was about six, and he had just started a new job. He had it bent into shape and added handlebars, wheels, and a new chain. It was all he could afford at the time. He knew that I desperately wanted a bike. When he presented it to me, my heart sank. It was an embarrassment in my mind. An ugly green rescue bike. What would the other kids think? But I got through my disappointment and lived on that bike for several years. It was akin to a demolition vehicle. It was indestructible, and I rode it hard.

One day a few years later, my brother and I created a game with our bikes. We raced down our sidewalk with no holds barred. No rules to our quest for victory. You could bump into, ram, and crash into each other’s bikes as we raced. Every run we made was wild. We wrecked each other over and over and smashed our bikes (and each other) to pieces in the process. Over and over the battles raged. We were two young boys out of our minds… and having the day of our lives. Lassie, all the while, was sitting in the front yard in a regal position, amused at the craziness.

When my dad drove up, seeing the carnage and our blood and dents and destruction of our old but only bikes, he wasn’t happy. He told us to head to our room and that he would be in soon to administer the punishment deserved for treating our bikes and bodies with such recklessness. We cowered in our room, waiting for this former Marine to arrive with his belt. My tears were already flowing. We knew that we were in for the discipline of our lives. To make it worse, he took over an hour before we heard the door open. To our surprise, there was no belt in his hand. His face was stern as he asked us to follow him into the living room. Oh no, we thought! A public disciplining!

As we walked into the room, there were two big boxes greeting us. My dad said, "These are your new bikes. Let’s open them up and assemble them together." He had run down the street to a bike shop and bought them while we were waiting for the inevitable. Instead of the deserved punishment, he gave grace. It was unlike anything I had ever received. It was unconditional love from a dad to his sons.

Over the next few hours, we assembled the most cool and beautiful bikes we had ever seen with his guidance and mentoring. He then led us out for a spin. Banana seats decorated in a checkerboard pattern with chopper handles and racing stripes on the chain guard. They were a perfect golden color. We were in a state of shock and disbelief. We rode around the street for a while, then over to him and thanked him. He simply said, "Take care of your bikes, boys." And we did. I rode that bike until I got my driver's license.

The anchor for our children is for them to know beyond a doubt that they are loved no matter what. That foundation has to be solid. Yes, discipline is the guardrail, but unconditional love is the bedrock.