Courageous – A Movie Intended for Fathers

The movie revolves around four dedicated and focused law-enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller and the challenges they face in their capacity as fathers.

It is great see a movie dedicated to some of the most pressing issues confronting us today – Am I prepared to be the best dad that I can ever be?

Here is a little synopsis from the movie makers:

“While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they’re quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a new-found urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children?

Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That’s courageous.”

Without giving away too much, here are some of my favorite takeaways and quotes from the movie.

1. “If my son is still OK, it is still a good day!”
   This was the response from one of the leading characters when his car was almost stolen with his baby boy strapped to the child seat. We sometimes lose sight of what is truly precious and important to us and it is only when we lose it that we realize how foolish we have been.
2. “You’ve been a good enough father”
   If there is one thing this movie stresses a great deal, it is this – are you satisfied with being a good enough dad?  We have only a few short years to influence our kids and being good enough is just not good enough.
3. Do you bother to do something you do not like with your kid just to build that relationship?
   There is a price to everything.And the worth we place on our relationship with our kids should motivate us and make us willing to do things outside our comfort-zone and preference. Do you habitually miss important events of your kids, such as their first musical event?

   Are you always busy at work?Is there something you should have done but didn’t? Has it ever occurred to you that you may miss the chance forever?

   Any man can be a father, but it takes a special person to be a dad.

4. When you are off work, is it all about your hobbies?
   We all claim to be busy and have no time.But when we do have time, would we rather slouch on the couch for a football game or a TV show rather than spending time with our kids? Nothing wrong with hobbies either. I guess the real question is whether work and hobbies starve even the last remaining ounce of time we can give to our children.

   If we are truly honest with ourselves, what will the answer be?

5. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel
   Whether we like it or not, we are the role model of your family.When dads fall asleep at the wheel of fatherhood and make wrong choices, our children suffer the consequences. I need to constantly remind myself of the need to be vigilant and to be careful about what I do and say.

   Do not ever overestimate our own abilities; we are more error prone than we think!

6. “When fathers are absent from the family, kids are 20 times more likely to end up in prison!”
   This was a statistical shocker I picked up from the film.Just makes one wonder if more dads or dads to be are taking their fatherhood responsibilities a little more seriously, what sort of impact would that have on society? The best part is we can start with ourselves. As Michael Jackson said, start with the man in the mirror.

Will you make a resolution on what kind of father you would like to be?

Still Learning to Be a Better Dad,
Mark