Father's Day

As I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I noticed something.  Practically every post was of someone telling their father, husband, or others Happy Father's Day.  They raved about how great their father is and how much they love him.  That got me to thinking.  Father's Day was created to celebrate the hard work and sacrifice of our fathers.  Yes, they deserve a day of recognition because many of them take care of the physical, financial, emotional, and hopefully spiritual needs of their families.  They work long hours, have sleepless nights, and bend over backwards to support their children.  Yet, we often take for granted how important their presence is to a child.

There is nothing like a father's hug and smile.  No one can replace a father's wisdom and love.  I believe a child can have father figures or male role models, but no one can be daddy.  Regardless of your marital status, a child needs their father.  It is up to the father to decide whether or not they need their child.  To the dads I will say, God blessed you with the opportunity to bear fruit and multiply.  It is your responsible to seek God and nurture that fruit, so that it may one day bear fruits of its own.  When you are not there, your child is hurting.  When you do not call, your child is hurting.  When you do not say "I love you" (and mean it), your child is hurting.  Your absence speaks volumes.  Don't let the only memory your child has of you, be of you walking away.

You may not get along with the mother, and that is fine.  But remember, at one time or another you loved her or wanted to love her.  Just because the two of you could not work it out, does not mean your child has to suffer the consequences.  It is not about you and her.  It is about taking care of the blessings God gave you.  So the next time you call or see your child, make it count.  Do not spend 5 hours arguing about trivial things or asking about the mother and her significant other.  Spend your time wisely and get to know your child.  Focus all of your love and attention on them.  They will be all the more better for it in the end.

(I really meant to go another direction with this post).  My true purpose for posting today was to tell my Heavenly Father, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY.  If it were not for Him, I would be nothing.  I am lost without Him.  As hard as I used to fight and try to run from Him, He always seemed to find me and swoop me out of harms way.  I have never seen His face, but I have felt His presence.  I have never touched Him, but He holds me in the palm of His hands.  He knows me in the pardon of my sins.  He loves me even when I cannot love myself.  He is the epitome of a true father.  Who else do you know that would sacrifice His only begotten son, so that we could have an everlasting life?  Who else, but God, can create the heaven and earth and all that dwells within it?  Who else do you know that would hear every cry and wipe every tear from my face?  Only God can do all those things and so much more.  God is my father.  He is the one I turn to in times of joy and sorrow.  He shields me and protects me.  He watches over me and guides me.  He gives me peace and comforts me. 

I could go on and on about how great my Father is to me.  I could boast of His greatness for the rest of my life and it still would not be enough.  I can never repay Him for all that He has done for me.  But I can spend the rest of my life praising Him and worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.

Happy Fathers Day to my biological father, my husband, brothers, father-in-law, uncles, cousins, friends, and anyone else I forgot to mention.  But more importantly, Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father.  I love you forever.