When I was a kid, I dreaded shopping for a gift for my Dad, especially for Father’s Day. What do you get a Dad anyway? Even the stores struggle to come up with good ideas. Asking him for a list of things he might like doesn’t help either. “Don’t waste the money. I don’t need anything.” He means it too. He’s already got a big screen tv and a garage. What else is there?

It might be the thought that counts, but you can’t wrap thought up in a box. So if you’re like me, you spend hours looking for the perfect gift only to realize it’s futile and give up. In the end, you find yourself in the tie department at Macy’s, hating yourself along with the rest of the tie-giving kids.

For years, I didn’t understand how someone could genuinely not need or want anything. But now that I’m a Dad myself, I totally get it. And if there was any lingering question left in me, my three year old drove it home last week when she gave me the greatest gift a child could ever give their father.

The girls and I were straightening up the house while Jen was at the grocery store. I put a load of towels in the washer and when I turned around to leave, Emmy was standing in the doorway. She didn’t say anything. She just looked up at me with sweet, “please hold me” eyes and reached out her arms. When I picked her up, she put her head on my shoulder and snuggled in close. We hugged in silence for a while. Then, in a quiet little voice, Emmy said, “Daddy…I love you.”

It felt different than most “I Love You’s” I get. It was as genuine as they come and it stirred my heart.

“You do? Tell me why.” I could see her wheels turning as she searched for the right words.

“Because… you’re beautiful.”

I laughed to myself. “You think so? What’s beautiful about Daddy?”

She sat up and said, “I like your beautiful shirt and your hair…and all the stuff you’re made of.” She smiled a quiet little smile, then laid her head back on my shoulder. We stood there again in silence for a minute more. Then she said something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. “Daddy, when I was still in heaven, I wished for a Daddy like you.”

Words fall short. What do I even say about that? My heart is melting all over again even typing the words.

Maybe it shouldn’t have meant so much to me, but it did. My heart swelled and hasn’t come down in the week since. It was a perfect, magical moment with my baby girl. She gave me a gift only she could give…one that did me a kind of good I can’t even fully explain.

Father’s Day is just days away. If you haven’t already, you’ll soon be running to the mall or jumping online in search of the perfect present. On behalf of all fathers, I’d like to deliver a message to anyone who has a Dad or is married to one.

If we want to read a book, we’ll buy it. We don’t need another shirt, but if we did, we’d go get one. There’s not much we want that we can’t get on our own. But there’s one gift we long for that you alone can give – and you won’t find it at Brookstone.

Want to make this the best Father’s Day ever?

Tell your Dad you love him.

Then tell him why.

Be genuine – and specific.

Use words, not stuff.

Speak from the heart.

Make a moment of it.

Thank him for the work he’s done and the sacrifices he’s made for your sake.

Thank him for the best of what he’s planted in you.

Tell him you’d have chosen him if you could have.

Tell him why he’s beautiful…and that you love all the stuff he’s made of.

Inside the heart of your father and most every man you know is a little boy who wrapped a towel around his neck and pretended he was Superman. We grow older and abandon our dreams to fly, but we never quite lose the hope that we can save the day. We spend our whole lives chasing our moment of glory, trying to build something bigger than ourselves, something that will leave a mark on the world. Then one day, hopefully sooner than later if we’re lucky, we realize that…it’s you. You are our legacy. You are our reason why. You’re directly tied to our purpose…and therefore, our self worth. So you won’t find what we want at the mall. We want your words. We want your time. We want to know that we matter to you…and we wanna know why.

Some of you reading this may be estranged from your fathers. If a bridge can be built, maybe today is the day to begin to build it. If that’s not possible, take this opportunity to celebrate the men who have stood in your father’s place, bringing healing to your heart and investing their lives in you.

This year, give the Dads in your life something they can’t give themselves.

Ditch the tie.

Write a letter.

Have a conversation.

Love your Dad?

Tell him…with words you’ve never used before.

On behalf of all fathers, I can assure you, there’s no greater gift.