You probably already know most of Johnny Cash’s story. He rose to fame in the 1950’s around the same time that Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis became popular on the music scene. While his career skyrocketed, his personal life bottomed out. He nearly destroyed himself with drugs and alcohol.
In the late sixties, he gave his life to Christ, gave up drugs, and married June Carter. A couple of years later his son, John Carter Cash, was born.
Johnny Cash was determined not to repeat the mistakes that he had made with his four daughters. One significant change was that Cash spent a lot of time with his son. He took John on the road with him. When they were home, he took him fishing. When John became an adult, father and son worked together in the studio, and they wrote songs together. They were, in Johnny’s words, “like soul mates.”
Johnny Cash will always be remembered as a legend in country music. But when he was once asked how he would like to be remembered, he simply said, “I’d like to be remembered as a good daddy.”
Paul tells us, almost in passing, what it means to be a ‘good daddy.’ Here’s how the Message says it:
With each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life. (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
That’s the process of being a good dad. It involves some handholding, some whispered encouragement, and some step-by-step teaching. Dads, here’s to meeting the challenge!
With love,
Mike