Is asking a father for his daughters hand in marriage old fashioned? To some this might be so but in our home we have quite a different take on things.
The name father goes hand in hand with the word respect. And…asking for something is a form of respect. A father has earned this respect because he has stayed the course and raised his daughter through the good and the sometimes very hard times. Our daughters have become a treasure to our new sons-in-law because dad had a big influence in their lives.
He provided food and clothing from infancy until our daughters learned to provide these things on their own. Almost of more importance were the other things he provided, the things which molded our children in character and person.
I remember when bicycles were given so the girls could learn new skills. Dad then became the fix it man when things were broken. In turn they would tell the neighbor kids that dad was the best fixer and he could fix their bikes too!
Our daughters were given an animal as a pet. This taught them to love and care for something that would depend on them.
A bedroom was provided so they could learn decorating skills from painting, matching colors, making furniture selections etc.
Ah, then comes a vehicle for use in teaching Drivers Ed. along with sound advice in picking out a good deal at the used car lot.
Father helped write that first job resume and also helped her understand office politics and how to get along on the job. He rejoiced with his daughters when they graduated from high school ready to take on the world, and provided them a place to stay when they went to college.
Asking a father for his daughters hand is the ultimate way of saying thank you for all that you have done for your daughter and I now want the honor of caring for her.
Any person who is worthy of a daughters hand in marriage will want to ask for it. He has recognized the value this daughter has in her father’s eyes and will be willing to put fear aside to do the right thing by going to the father in respect and recognition that he is asking for something precious, someone who has been cared for since her birth.
I know such a father will in-turn have great respect for the man that comes and asks for his daughter. Such a man shows grit and integrity, a heart to do what is right and not what is necessarily easy.
Asking for a daughters hand will never go out of date or become old fashioned because raising a daughter will always require a form of sacrifice from the father to stay the course with love and time.
Have you made your decision yet?
It’s time to sit down with the lovely bride, who just happens to be my daughter, and start the decision making process. Oh the excitement of it all! Talking about colors, music, decorations, who should we have do this? Who should we have do that? It will be at our house in the backyard; what if it rains? We should be safe; it’s in August after all.
Ok… my husband said I had to up-date my WordPress theme. Why? Because mine was old and all the new cool stuff wouldn’t work with it. No big deal, I wanted to change my colors to red and white anyway. I looked through my choices, and you guessed it, not many in red and white. Why should finding a new theme be easy when nothing else has been?