10 Reasons Why You Can't Be Replaced

The David Livingstone museum in Scotland is a treasure trove of adventure, travel stories, missionary journeys, and epic illustrations of faith.

Buried in one corner is an account of Livingstone’s son, Robert. When he was 16, he traveled to Africa – without permission - to see his father. When his father failed to meet him, Robert (impetuously) boarded a Cape Town vessel bound for the new world. It was 1863.

Arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, Robert Livingstone enlisted in the Union Army as a substitute, under the name, “Rupert Vincent.” He was a private in the Third New Hampshire Regiment H Company, Tenth Army Corps.

Livingstone was wounded in battle, and died of his wounds in 1864. He was 18 years old.

Just before he died, Private Rupert Vincent revealed his real name. “I am Robert Livingstone,” he said.

It seems unbelievable that a man could pay money for someone else to substitute their service in the Army.

Similarly, no one can come close to replacing you in your most crucial role as your children’s father. You have a unique place and can be a stunning influence for generations to come. You may be dissatisfied in your career, flat broke, or the butt of your siblings’ jokes, but you’re spectacularly special because there will never be anyone who can substitute your calling as a father. Here are 10 Reasons Why You Are Irreplaceable:

1. There’s only one you, and you’re it!

   You are a unique creation, and your children are rooted in who you are. Some of the things you do can be imitated, but no-one else on earth is capable of stepping in to become the man that you are.

2. Your children are imprinted on you:

   Yes, just like a baby duck, you are the alpha figure. It’s a quality unique to you and it can never be replaced.

3. No-one knows your children like you do:

   From their first diaper change to their first at-bat in Little League, you know your children inside and out. 

4. You are a family:

   A family is not a casual phenomenon. A family is built on a covenant unlike any other. As the dad you occupy a critically important role that can’t be occupied by anyone else.

5. Your children have your DNA:

   Literally, part of you is a part of your children. Your genetic make-up is encoded into your children. That fact is yours and yours alone.

6. No-one can love them like you do:

   Your love comes from your heart and from your experience. Fun, pain, challenge, playtime, good times, and the not-so-good times. It’s all yours and your love is built on a lifetime of being a dad.

7. You are their connection to your family history:

   Nothing can replace your heritage and the custodial chain of family history that comes through you.

8. You have so much to teach them:

   The things you have to teach belong to you alone. That special whistle, your stories, the secret trick to making mom laugh…

9. The memories:

   Your children may be just two or three years old, or they may be teens. Regardless, you are the one who made their memories and that is pricelessly irreplaceable.

10. Your sense of humor:

    Your kids get you. That’s amazing! They laugh at your lame daddy jokes. They love your stories. They honestly think you’re funny!

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