A Day At DADS
Today was another special day.
John, a friend that I recently reconnected with and who had become aware of The Grandpa Project, invited me to attend a men’s fellowship group with him. John said the group was called DADS (Divine Alternative for Dads Services) and that he had been going to a Wednesday morning meet-up for about three years. John had told them about The Grandpa Project last week and found out that not only were they all dads, but about half the group were grandpas as well.
Well, I didn’t have to be invited twice. Of course, I would go along. I’m learning that being “retired” gives me a lot of opportunities to discover new places and friends. This morning was no exception.
After arriving and meeting a few of the men in the group, John and I took our seats in the small meeting room. Bibles were strategically placed on chairs around the room, presumably for people like me who didn’t bring their own. One by one the men arrived. For the first time in a long while, I was in the midst of a group of like-minded men of a different color. And it felt so right.
I could see that this diverse group of men, some who were relatively new and others who had been attending for years, were there to support one another regardless of the backgrounds or skin colors that came through the door. The meeting began with the reading of Colossians 3, followed by spontaneous sharing of what that set of verses meant to the men in the room.
I couldn’t help but feel I was in the room – at this specific day and time – for a reason. As the men shared, I read and reread the twenty-five verses. It was as if they were talking directly to me. “You must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander. . . Do not lie to each other. . . Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against one another.”
Wow! DADS is a special organization. And as we all know, we become dads before we become grandpas. I suggest that you take a few minutes to find out what DADS is all about.
When the meeting ended, I stopped by the DADS library and looked at a few of the books that were on display. The one in the picture at the top of this page caught my eye. When I opened it, the random page that I turned to presented a story about a grandpa.
No doubt. I was there for a reason today. And I’m looking forward to going back.