My three kids and I traveled to the beach today. While we were there I noticed a tall, thin man. Years ago when I was a teenager, I would have giggled to my friends and pointed out that he had a farmer’s tan. In fact, his chest and upper arms were very white, while his lower arms and face had a nice tan. I imagined that there were others at the beach that would have noticed the farmer’s tan and giggled to themselves.
However, it was what else I noticed about this man that warmed my heart. He was there with his family. His wife was there and he had two little girls that were probably two and three and baby that was about 6 months old. He spent most of his time with his two little girls. Taking one and then the other into the ocean. They held on tight to this man with the farmer’s tan and laughed with delight as he dipped them in the water. At one point, he was holding both of them and they clung tightly to his neck.
How well the old adage – Don’t judge a book by it’s cover – applied here. Whatever people thought about the outward appearance of the man with the farmer’s tan, it was obvious that he also had a big heart and was a great dad!