Father’s day is coming…this day for the past 4 years has brought a myriad of emotions for me. My Father passed away in 2008 when I was 25. So it is another year I will walk past the Father’s day card aisle at Target and feel well… a bit choked up. I said good bye to my Father on the phone, when I was standing in the card aisle at Target about 5 years ago, I didn’t know it was good bye. I remember the exact location I was standing in the aisle. I remember him saying “I love you” and me saying “I love you too,” having no idea this would be the last time I would hear his voice on earth.
This Father’s day may prove to be the most difficult yet. After barely surviving Mother’s Day this year I am kind of dreading it. This year is my husband’s first Father’s Day, I had big plans to buy my husband a cheesy tie or put a sonnegram picture in a frame for him. Instead, we will celebrate knowing that we will see our first two children when we are reunited in heaven.
I was on a walk today (should have been a run but I didn’t bargain on the 95 degrees 95 % humidity Texas air turning my mouth into conditions only desirable in a sauna…but I digress…) I was walking thinking I should be running and thinking about Father’s day coming. I told God that honestly I was really dreading Father’s Day and feeling sad about so many things:
– That my Father is gone
– That my husband will not hold our first 2 babies in his arms this side of eternity
– About the millions of foster children and orphans around the world that have no relationship with their Father.
My soul screamed, “God we are a fatherless generation!!!!!!!!!”
Then I heard His whisper, “Charity, this is NOT a Fatherless generation!”
“What!” I thought, “God I’m sorry but that makes no sense to me, have you seen the statistics? Have you watched the news? Have you seen what is happening to little children all over the world?” I can only imagine God having a good chuckle at my rantings.
He answered, “Charity, I am their Father.”
Of course, it all made perfect sense. We (the Christian community along with the secular community along with our local, national and international governments) have walked around wringing our hands despairing over the Fatherless generation.
But God’s Word is “This is not the Fatherless generation!!!!!!!!” He can say this because HE is their Father, and HE is the best Father anyone could ever have. He is the one who was raised from the dead, and He can bring life to a valley of dry souls, souls crying out for their Father. See all of Ezekiel 37, here is verses 11-14a:
They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land.
This is a two part issue, as I believe everything in life is. There is the personal heart part and then there is the practical life application part of the situation. I want to address both of these because I believe they cannot be separated from each other.
When they are separated – the heart revelation from the practical outpouring – we perpetuate a belief system that prevents children and adults from walking in the security and confidence that comes from knowing God as their Father.
Tomorrow we will look at how to know God more as our Father.
Until then, I would welcome your comments as always! How do you see the “fatherless generation” problem being solved? How have you experienced God as Father? How has your earthly Father shown you an aspect of Father God’s character?
Ahhhh! Memorial Day weekend. It marks the official beginning of summer with hot dogs sizzling on the barbeque (anyone else only love hot dogs with striped grilling lines?), trips to the beach and if you are old school, the fashion world’s blessing to wear white! I love my white jeans, wearing them makes me feel like a lady…turning 30 didn’t make me feel like a real grown up. However, making it through a whole day with white denim does. (Secret: I carry a Tide Pen) (Fact: Tide Pen should hire me as their spokeswomen, because on white denim days I use it at least 5 times)