Children Need Their Fathers!
Having grown up without a father, not even knowing who he was, I didn't realize just how much I needed my dad. I didn't realize just how much not having, not any father, but my father in my life affected me, even down to the poor choices I made in relationships. I didn't realize that I had been searching for him in my heart, desiring to know him, yearning to hear his voice, needing to see his smile as he looked at me...
But one day, in 2004, my silent search for my dad brought me to so much more...
Today, I want to gift that which was given to me to all children, young and old alike, who have grown up without knowing their father...
This is for you.
Side note:
This in no way takes away from the men who stand in the gap for the missing fathers, and who try to pour into children fatherly love and wisdom. Even with all that those who stand in the gap attempt to do, there is still a missing piece, a brokenness that occurs when one doesn't know their own father and do not have a connection with their extended family members.
In reference to my own experience, I was 50 when I found out my father's name, met some family members whose search led them to find me, and then had revealed to me that, many years ago, my father committed suicide. Thankfully, prior to getting this information, because I formed a relationship with my heavenly Father, having had Psalm 27:10 imprinted upon my heart so deeply that the wound that once was had healed, I was not devastated by the news. By the time I had found out about my birth father, my desire for that connection had long ceased to exist. GOD was my Father.
The man who died I didn't know. The ONE who took me up and adopted me, who nurtured my spirit, raising me as His own, I still have a relationship with and it is very strong. I accredit HIM with the fact that my human father's family found me. I believe, deep in my heart, that there is a reason why, after all of these years, I now know what I never was told growing up. What that reason is, I don't know, but my prayer is the same as always, "Father, Thy Perfect Will be done in my life, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I pray. Amen."
Today, I thought of the fatherless children and how they might feel. Today, I felt the need to give them what was given to me on my birthday in 2004 (Psalm 27:10). Today, I lift up the fatherless children to our Heavenly Father, standing in the gap for them, thinking about all of the bible verses where God spoke of them - they were not forgotten or left behind. God made sure that they were provided for.
But today, as I thought about the fatherless children, I also found myself thinking about my human father and the mental duress that he suffered from. I find myself thinking, "What if I had been told earlier who my human father was and where he could be found?" "What if I could have had the opportunity to talk to him before he killed himself, and get to know him?" "Would he still be alive today?" "Could my presence in his life have made a difference for him?"
Today I find myself thinking about my human father, and wondering...
...and those thoughts now lead me to think of the many children who were aborted. Children whose fathers and mothers did leave them. Children who never had the opportunity to be birthed and become a part of this amazing tapestry called life. I think about these children who never received a name, and I find myself back at the beautiful comforting hug that I receive every time I consider Psalm 27:10:
"Even if your father and mother do leave you, I even I shall pick you up"
I find myself taking a moment of silence for the children who never made it here because their parents refused them.
(Seven seconds of Silence here for them please.)
All I can find myself thinking, even as I consider again the beauty of Psalm 27:10, is that there is nothing like a Father's love.
Though our earthly parents may fail us, God never will. He is always there to comfort us, always there when we need him, always there parenting us.
And this makes me love God, my Father, even more.
Daddy, I love you.
