Fight Club - Student Testimony

How My Father Brought Me to Manhood 

By Alex Seher

            Looking back on my childhood, I can now see just how much of an impact my father, Dr. Seher, has made in my life. As early as I can remember, he has always been trying to spend quality time with me. Whether it was throwing a football back and forth or him helping me with my daily chores, he always had a strong presence in my life. He accomplished this not only through quality time, but also through strong discipline. 

            I am grateful for many things that my father has done for me. The one thing that I appreciate the most, however, was his willingness to discipline me. In the Seher household there are sets of rules that you follow. If you stepped out of line, you got spanked. This taught me from a young age to respect those in charge of me and honor those who are older than myself. After every time that I was punished, my father would sit down with me and we would talk through what I did wrong and how he loves me. Later in life, I read in Proverbs Chapter 13:24; "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." When I was old enough to comprehend what this verse meant, I had much more respect for my dad than ever before. 

         

 Mark Seher is also one of our High
School Small Group Leaders

   My father also taught me discipline not just in my physical life, but in my spiritual life as well. This area of development is critical and my dad realized it right from the start. When I was young, he told me to read the Bible daily. I ignored this piece of information for a long time because I did not see the value in it. Over time, I saw how my dad was constantly in the scriptures and it inspired me to do the same. His actions have always spoken Louder than his words. I could see how much he loved the Lord through his actions every day. He treated mom with a high respect and loved all of us kids equally. His actions motivated me to get into the Word everyday. 

I owe everything to my father for making the sacrifices necessary to prepare me for life. Even though he did not want to at times, he was not afraid to punish me when necessary. I am very grateful for this because the number of parents who discipline their children properly is growing lower everyday. His actions spoke louder than his words. I could see how the Word of God affected his lifestyle and it encouraged me to want to live in the same manner. He realized that if he wanted me to behave a certain way when I grew older, he was going to have to act that way ALL THE TIME. That meant always loving, respecting, and honoring others. I can remember every time my father behaved in a certain way that he claimed not to support. These memories stick out in my memory constantly. It reinforces in my mind how important it is to practice what you preach because someday my kids will be watching my every move, and children do not forget. 

            Thank you, dad, for being the model that has taught me to live a righteous life. You have done a marvelous job leading the Seher family and I thank you for the blessing that you have been in my life. 

Alex Seher is currently a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University. He was a faithful student in SURGE Student Ministries where he served on worship and ministry team, went on mission trips to Haiti, NYC, Cleveland, Pennsylvania and more. He also served as an intern with SURGE in the summer of 2016.