Most Valuable Player (MVP)

I always find the best authors are those that can communicate some part of their personal life into their books. That was the case with author, Greg Vaughn. He lost his father to Alzheimer’s in 2000. As a result of this experience his book, Letters from Dad, was published in 2005.

“I know my dad loved me because he made sure our family was taken care of, but he never could say ‘I love you,’ or ‘Son, I am proud of you.’ That left a hole in my soul,” Vaughn stated.

In the garage, Greg discovered an old rusty fishing box. In it, he found the remains of his father’s fishing lures. “I was mad at my dad for dying, and angry at myself for not trying harder to connect with him.” Vaughn was overcome with feelings of anger and hurt at God [for not stopping this].

Vaughn started asking the questions that many children ask, “Why couldn’t my father tell me he loved me? Why couldn’t we have been closer? Why couldn’t I have had a father like ___? ”

Greg was saddened by the fact that he did not possess even a signature from his father. Then almost immediately, a haunting question came to Greg’s mind:

“Hey big shot, you are out here mad at the world. If you were to die here in the garage, what would your wife and children hold in their hands tomorrow that would let them know they were the treasures of your life?” As he pondered that piercing question, he had to sadly answer himself. “Nothing, just like my father left me.”

The answer to that question caught Vaughn by surprise. He had always told his children and wife how much he loved them. They made it a point to go on family vacations with all their great memories. When it came to something tangible they could hold in their hands and treasure forever from him, he couldn’t think of a thing he had given them. That is when an idea came to him.

“I called twelve of my closest friends, and asked them if any of them had a letter of love and blessing from their father – not counting cards,” Vaughn said. “Not a single one of them said yes.” Then I asked, “What would you give to have one?”

“The answer was always, ‘More than you could imagine.’ Then I asked each of them if they had ever written a letter like that to their children. None of them had. I looked at each of them and said, ‘Don’t you think we should’?”

Vaughn revealed a marvelous journey to these brothers where they could leave a legacy of faith, hope and love through the lost art of letter writing. (Letters from Dad rests on the two pillars of the written letters and the spoken blessing.)

When they were all through with their time together, every one of these godly men told Greg that this was one of the most significant events of their lives as fathers.

Over the years, Vaughn’s book (and program) has changed the lives of his children (and other families as well), church men, male penitentiaries, organizations (like Interstate Battery and the Rotary International), the military, and even the Pentagon.

Being a high-quality father (with affectionate relationships in his life) makes him a superior employee. Less than three percent of Christian men have a letter (or some tangible written expression of love) from their fathers. The percentage is even less in the secular community.

If you and your father are distant acquaintances, don’t you think the time has come to make an intimate reconnection with him (with no excuses on your part).

Others wish they had your current opportunity, but death or health issues have robbed them of that possibility.) Do what you know you should do because tomorrow is never guaranteed. Forgiveness on your part may seem expensive, but it will free you up emotionally.

James 4:14-15 (MSG, NLT) says, “You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to we will live and do this or that’.” (No one lives forever.) You don’t want to live with “what if’s” in your earthly existence.