Be Your Daughter’s First Love, and She Will Never Settle For Less

As a #GirlDad, I often worry. I read stories of young ladies and girls getting harassed or abused. I hear stories of deception, lies, and disrespect towards women.  There are well-documented incidents of men using positions of power to do works of evil. It’s seemingly everywhere you look.

I’m raising two vibrant, beautiful, fun-loving, smart, talented, strong daughters. They are 11 and 9. How can I protect them from the evil in this world? How can I instill in them the importance of self-respect? How will they know who they can trust and love without fear?

Then I remember.

We love because God loved us first. God is the Father and we are His children.

In a similar sense, I am a dad who loves. And my daughters will learn from me and my faith.

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I often pray that God help me and my wife raise our children to be faithful followers of Christ. We do this by setting a good example. My girls have seen me address the congregation as part of the church council. Our immediate family, and our church family, have shown them how to volunteer at events and help others in need. We talk about the importance of accepting people for who they are and treating others the way they want to be treated.

They have witnessed so much good in this world. So perhaps I shouldn’t feel consumed by worry of evil. The fact is, I can’t protect my girls from everything. I won’t always be by their sides when they face difficult decisions. They won’t always hear my voice warning them to steer clear of people who seem nice on the surface, but have bad intentions.

But they will know what it feels like to be loved in a healthy way.

They will know what it feels like to have someone look at them adoringly, and treat them with the respect they deserve.

They will know what it’s like to have someone hug them and make them feel 100% safe and secure.

RELATED: Dear Daughter: Here’s the Secret to Figuring Out Men

I’ve made it my “dad goal” to set the bar high. Anyone they let close to them will have to measure up to those standards. By knowing what feels right, hopefully they will more easily recognize when something is deceptively wrong.

And with that, I find some sense of peace.

Between the love of their dad and the love of Our Father in Heaven, they should never settle for anything less.

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Articles by Kyle Means

Kyle Means

Kyle Means is the Director of Marketing for the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He enjoyed a fulfilling career in Sports & Entertainment prior to his work in higher education. Past stops include HuskerVision, Houston Rockets/Toyota Center, and the Tri-City Storm/Viaero Event Center. Kyle left the sports biz in 2014 to pursue a career more focused on marketing where he can use a combination of strategic and creative skills. Plus, he now has a few more nights and weekends to spend with his awesome family including his wife (HerViewFromHome founder) Leslie Means, their two daughters Ella and Grace and son, Keithan. Kyle still enjoys watching and playing a variety of sports. The competitive, yet unifying, nature of sports is a strangely beautiful concept that he loves. When he’s not enhancing the brand at UNK, spending time with family or watching/playing sports, Kyle can usually be found volunteering at First Lutheran Church where likes to display a strong faith and give back to the community.