As a Father, There is More Than One Way to Provide

4 Ways to Provide as a Father and What I Have Learned Since Doing So

“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one fo the most valuable assets in our society.” — Billy Graham

When I became a father, I began to understand what it meant to provide for my family.

In January of 2014, I became the father to a beautiful, peaceful little girl. She captured my heart. And all I wanted to do was give her the love and affection she deserved.

While I didn’t know exactly what that meant as a new father. I knew my life had changed. This little girl was entrusted to me. And I would need to do my best at helping her grow up into the person she was made to be.

Like most first time fathers, I did not feel ready.

Sure, we did the classes, read the books, and talked about what I would need to do to keep her alive. But what did it really mean to be her father? How would I provide for her in the ways she would need through the years?

At first, these questions didn’t matter much. The first year is spent keeping sleeping and feeding schedules with tons of diaper changes and broken up sleep.

As she started to get older, I realized something, I would need to provide more than basic needs for her.

The Common Perception of Providing as a Father

For the first couple of years of my daughter’s life, I bought into this idea that the best way for me to provide was to work hard at work and bring home a paycheck. This meant I would sometimes stay late. Work on weekends. And work at night after she went to bed.

I thought if I could make enough money for us all to live comfortably, I was providing for my daughter and my family.

Unfortunately, this is a fool's errand when it is the sole focus of providing as a father. And it seems to be a common theme among fathers in our society and culture today. Often I see men around me who only focus on their job. They feel this is the best way to provide and so they can shirk the other responsibilities like I use to do.

Yet, providing as a father is more than making money.

4 Ways Father’s Provide for Their Families

When I finally realized that my job was to provide for my wife and daughter (and then daughters when my second was born) in many ways it changed the way I related to my family and began to create harmony, peace, and happiness to our lives.

The ways fathers provide for their families are more than economical, they are also emotional, mental, and spiritual. These three additional provisions are what round out a family and bring relationships into the way they function best.

Economic Provision

First, I am not saying that the father has to be the breadwinner in the family. This happens to be the majority for many families. Yet, economic provision can also come with responsibility when handling the money or making personal purchases.

A father must show responsibility when it comes to finances.

When fathers step into providing financial consistency, growth, and focus the family thrives. Your children will learn about how to save, spend, and give their money when fathers teach them.

Emotional Provision

Fathers provide for their families when they are emotionally stable and allow for emotions to surface. When a father can’t control his emotions, it breaks down their spouse and their children. It removes security and lessens their ability to lead.

A father must create emotional stability for their families.

Not only do they need to keep their cool, but they need to help their kids too. When fathers can step in, validate emotions, help their children understand their emotions, and take control, then a father provides emotionally.

Mental Provision

If a father cannot control his mental state, whether it is learning and growing or dealing with his personal mental health, the family unit struggles. Our spouses depend on our mental presence, and our children need examples to follow.

A father’s mental health is important as an example and as a foundation.

When fathers don’t work through their mental health issues or fail to grow their mental capacity, they fail to provide for their families. Get help if you are dealing with mental health issues. And continue to grow as a person, this gives your kids more than you can imagine.

Spiritual Provision

In most spiritual or religious backgrounds, the father is called to lead their family in their faith. When a father doesn’t lead, the family begins to breakdown. Most of the time, a father fails to provide by simply “letting everyone else figure it out.”

A father provides spiritually by sharing their faith and encouraging spiritual growth.

If fathers leave it up to their family, culture, or society to figure things out, it leaves so many questions and insecurities for their family spiritually. Knowing where dad stands and what he believes makes a huge difference.

What I Learned from Providing All Four Ways

Fathers will never be perfect.

I’m not. My dad wasn’t. And my grandfather wasn’t either. In fact, many of us want to be the best husband and father we can to our wife and kids.

What I have learned about providing as a father over the last six years is that it takes humility to provide. I cannot do this on my own, but I need to want to do it. When I struggle, I can ask for help.

And when I am doing well, my family thrives.

Fatherhood isn’t easy. But we all can learn to be better fathers. We all can grow in how we provide for our families. And it will help us all create a brighter future for our families.

Are there other ways to provide for your family? Where do you struggle in providing? Where are you strong? Share in the responses below.

Jack Heimbigner is an author, creator, and coach. He lives in the country in Eastern Washington State with his family. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Start achieving your dreams with my 7-Day Living the Dream Email Course.