So much has happened and so much now remains uncertain. Do we go back to work? Do we let the kids go to the park? Do we stay inside? Do we start homeschooling?

A pandemic raises questions. It explodes the status quo. Suddenly everything seems in flux. Suddenly our foundation has been shaken. 

But it’s worth noting today that the fundamentals of our job as fathers has not changed. What do we do in times like these? What do we do about this or that? How do we respond to this or that?

The answer is simple, though not easy: We must do what is necessary. To provide. To keep them safe. To make them feel loved. Whatever it is, whatever the cost, however it looks.

If that means getting a second job, if that means selling the vacation house, if that means living in an RV in the driveway, if that means re-thinking our lives and priorities from top to bottom, we’ll do it. Because if we don’t, who will? Because if we don’t—because it might be embarrassing, because we’re scared, because it’s hard—what does that say?

In hard times, fathers must step up. In uncertain times, fathers rest on what is certain—that we will do what we need to do. And we will do it well and without complaint.