Do as I say, not as I do!

 

 

“Do as I say, not as I do” is an all to familiar saying I heard growing up as a child. I remember thinking to myself, “if it’s not good for me, how is it good for you?” Although I never had the courage to ask the adults in my life that question, when I myself became an adult and had children of my own, I realized how “easy” it was for me to quote those 8 words I’d so frequently heard as a child.

I am totally convinced that God has a sense of humor! I’ll never forget the day my wife and I found out we were expecting our second child! We were so excited that our two-year old daughter would have a sibling to grow up with. At the beginning of the fourth month of the pregnancy, my wife and I were involved a minor car accident, although the accident was minor, to be better safe than sorry, we decided to go to the Emergency Room to make sure the baby (singular) was ok.

Upon arriving to the hospital, the nurses started taking my wife’s vitals, making sure her blood pressure was stable. Once the check in prerequisites were complete, they began to prepare my wife for an ultrasound.

By definition, an ultrasound is a medical imaging technique used to visualize muscles, tendons, and many internal organs. It’s most commonly known in the maternity world as the tool to find out the sex of the baby before birth. As the Dr. began the testing procedure, I noticed a look of concern on his face, I asked if there was a problem, and he stated the baby’s heartbeat is faster than normal! He immediately had my wife transferred to the maternity ward of the hospital for more testing. Trying not to be overly concerned, I held my wife’s hand as the Doctors proceeded to see what was going on with our child (singular) !

Now I must admit, I was never good at visualizing the child’s form on the ultrasound screen, I couldn’t see feet, hands or anything! It was all a bunch of static to me! That day will remain in my memory for as I long as I live! That was the day I am positive God and all the Angels had a laugh on my expense! I will never forget the “im glad it’s not me” smile that came over the Dr’s face performing the ultrasound. I said to the Dr. “so everything is fine Sir”, his reply was “absolutely”! He then said, I want you two to focus on the screen, I want to show you whats going on. He went on to say, where my finger is on the screen is the baby’s heart… (This next statement is when all of Heaven laughed at me) He then said “baby A is fine, baby B is fine, and baby C is fine, Mr and Mrs. Rimpson you’re having triplets!!

I don’t remember much after that statement, I just remember being hooked up to a breathing machine when I finally awoke from what I thought was a dream, or at that time a NIGHTMARE! I’ve shared our story countless times over the years, each time I share it, tears quickly come to my eyes, and I know now, the tears still come even when I’m writing about it to you! 🙂

Sure enough, my three sons were born on July 30, 2002! THE PROUDEST FATHER in the world!! Three sons!! Two away from my own starting five! It’s my belief, that there is no greater responsibility given by God than that of the role of a FATHER! “To whom much is given, much is required!”

Real Fathers lead by example, understanding the greatest lessons are learned through the eyes of the pupil! If we aren’t practicing what we preach, all we’re doing is raising a generation to be hypocrites, double-minded, and unstable in all of their ways. The cycle has to be broken!! Why not start with US! “Do as I say, not as I do” is the reason today why so many of our young men are gangsters, dope dealers, womanizers, have no integrity, have no sense of direction. A generation of men settled for being “daddies”, never answering the call to be “FATHERS”…

Truth be told the statement “Do as I Say and Not as I Do” in itself is not even achievable! I don’t care how many times you say it, If what you’re saying doesn’t line up with what you’re doing, YOUR ACTIONS WILL ALWAYS SPEAK LOUDER THAN YOUR WORDS!! Real Fathers have to make sure what we’re saying and doing are all on the same page! If I’m “double minded” I shouldn’t be shocked when my three sons become adults, and have the same unstable ways.

Have I made mistakes? Of course! Am I the perfect father? Not by a long shot! Have I ever had to apologize to my children? YES! They know their Father isn’t perfect, and that I don’t have all the answers! Guess what, its OK to not know everything, and even better to humble yourself before your family when there is a need on our part to do so! When we are REAL before our families, the reward is priceless! Its called “character, humility, integrity,” its showing our children what it means to be a MAN! To my three sons, don’t just do as I say, but DO AS I DO! My prayer for all of us fathers, is that what we’re preaching, is truthfully what we’re living! From my heart to yours! Peace Rimpology101