Sins of the Father

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Sins of the Father

https://thewisewordsproject.com/2019/01/28/sins-of-the-father/
— Read on thewisewordsproject.com/2019/01/28/sins-of-the-father/

I was approached some weeks ago by http://thewisewordsproject.com and asked to write a piece for their website. Here it is, a tale of two great men, and the third who connects them. Thank you to the website for giving me the opportunity to write for them. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

36 thoughts on “Sins of the Father”

  3. This is a very good lesson, and very well presented. Thank God the men had conscience of some sorts. In some scenarios, there is bad behaviour and then no conscience! Thanks for sharing.

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  5. This is such a wonderful tale of pain overcome. It’s been said, ‘childhood is what we spend the rest of our lives recovering from’, I think that is true. And, of course, the other part of that is what we don’t recover from we inflict on our own children and the cycle continues. I applaud you for taking steps to break the cycle. For in the end no matter how much support we have from loved ones, it is we, who have to dig deep and find the courage to smash the chains. Your story touched me on a deep level, for I also was parented by a man who would over indulge in alcohol from time to time – the results were terrifying! Thank you for sharing this testament to forgiveness and overcoming emotional hurdles. It is so well written, expressed with brutal honesty and healing honesty as well. Again, thank you!

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      1. Stephen, here in Canada we have a corporate entity called Bell Canada that sponsors a “let’s Talk” day annually on Jan 30th – the purpose of this is to try to destroy the stigma around mental illness. It is my belief that those who are caught up in an addiction of any kind, be it alcohol, prescription, drugs, or street drugs, or perhaps something else, are trying to self medicate their pain away. Our parents did not have the benefit of counselling or self-help books, or much support either. They all did the best they could with what they knew at any given time. This piece of writing is superb in and of itself – but it was your personal story that really got me and it should be shared far and wide to help people understand. Thank you again for writing it – my respect and admiration for you, both as a person and as a talented writer continues to grow. It truly was my pleasure!

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  9. Awesome post.

    It’s amazing how things like that impact us. My Father drank a lot. Unfortunately, he was a violent drunk. I ended up at age thirteen, taking my stand and saying I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. I made this stand while he had a pistol in his hand and was going to kill my mother. I did the most courageous thing I’ve ever done in a life marked by courageous things. I put my finger down the barrel of the gun (not the brightest thing to do, I admit). I ended up disarming him, got ready to go mano y mano with him (a fight I would probably have lost), but he ended up backing down. Looking back, the encounter was a turning point for my Father and I. In the years to come there was a rift so wide between us that we could have been in the same room and still had light years between us. He became a father in the biological sense only to me, which is too bad. I wouldn’t have minded knowing him better.

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  14. Stunning. Breathtaking. Beautiful. Painful. Raw. Honest. You’ve done it again Stephen! I admire your writing talent. What a gripping picture you’ve painted with this piece. Well done my friend!!

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  15. Loved the images you created. I particularly enjoyed the first part about you as a boy, and in my own way I can relate to waiting to see how my father would act each day. I pray Adam will not receive this baton.

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