Exploring the intersection of love and service, the discussion delves into the complexities of fatherhood through the lens of a famed author’s life. Despite his personal shortcomings, his writings reveal profound truths about sacrifice and genuine care. It emphasizes the heart of fatherhood: asking, "What do you need me to do?" The message is clear: love requires continual service, even when it's challenging. Ultimately, it’s about giving selflessly, listening, and being present in your children’s lives.
02:15
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Love as Service
A dad's love is demonstrated through service and sacrifice.
This involves offering support, even when unacknowledged or imperfect.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Offer Support
Ask your children what they need from you.
Offer them unwavering support and love.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Serve Your Children
Focus on serving your children, whether through practical help or emotional support.
Strive to provide what you may have lacked.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
A Farewell to Arms is a semiautobiographical novel that captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its sweep. The story follows Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver on the Italian front, and his passionate relationship with Catherine Barkley, an English nurse. The novel interweaves themes of love, war, loyalty, and desertion, reflecting Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The book is known for its vivid and deeply felt portrayal of war and its impact on individuals, as well as Hemingway's distinctive writing style that emphasizes immediacy and simplicity[2][3][4].
Ernest Hemingway was not a great husband or, as often as he should have been, a great father. He had four wives, at least one affair, and was often absent in his family’s life, preferring to spend his time when not writing on big-game hunting, deep sea fishing, bullfighting, and so on. But he was a great writer and a great observer of the human condition. There are few scenes in literature that capture love and loss and the terrifying but also inspiring moment of becoming a father quite like the end of A Farewell to Arms. And nothing quite captures love like this quote from it:
“When you love, you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve.”
“What do you need me to do? You offer up that to them. I will do anything I can possibly do in order to keep you safe. That’s it. Offer that up and then just love them.”
So think about that today. Remind yourself what love is, what your job is. You’re here to serve. Whether that’s driving them around, or just listening to them talk. Your job is to sacrifice. To give what you didn’t get.
Offer that up. Offer it always. Even if they’re not ready to take it. Even if they don’t understand. Even if you’re not as good at it as you’d like to be. Just keep trying. Keep serving.
The Daily Dad 