Father's Day

Since yesterday was Father's Day, it got me thinking about how lucky I am to have a present, caring, and incredible father in my life. Between the events and activities yesterday, I started wondering what it must be like for children or even adults who grew up without a Dad or even a positive male role model. What is their Father's Day like? Is it a day of hurt and pain, grief and sadness or is it like any other day?

The amount of children growing up in fatherless homes is astounding and increasing dramatically. Oftentimes the mother is emphasized as the most important person in a child's life, but the father plays a crucial and irreplaceable role. My father has shown me what it means to be determined, confident and a leader. He has taken care of me when I was sick, read books to me when I was little, explained the ins and outs of sports and politics, and has always been there to give me a better perspective.

This, I'll call it, "father-problem" we have in our society today probably also affects how children see and relate to their Heavenly Father. If God is suppose to be their Father, yet they don't know their fathers or their fathers are not good guys, then how are they suppose to know and love this God? Yet truthfully, God is the perfect Father and can heal the wounds created by the brokenness of all earthly fathers. God can show an even more perfect love than the love that should be experienced from your father on Earth. I hope Father's Day was no longer a day of pain and regret but a day for celebrating the healing and love experienced from the Heavenly Father.

Even children raised with a father should remember that the only father that can give you perfect love, eternal approval, and complete healing is God the Father, but if you do have a wonderful father who has mirrored God's love for you in your life, I hope you gave him a big bear hug yesterday! Happy Father's Day!