A Father's Love
There was a period in my life when I dreaded the arrival of Father's Day because the focus for the day was...well, naturally...fathers. Growing up, at our church, there were endless speeches and gifts for all the fathers in attendance. After church there were more accolades and celebrating. Even the television got in on the day with all its commercials. Thankfully, we didn't have many social media platforms back then because that definitely would have been the day I would have wilfully unplugged just to avoid the flood of Father's Day pictures and shoutouts. You see, after my dad passed away, I felt like I couldn't take part in celebrating fathers because I no longer had one. I always looked forward to the Monday after because things were back to normal and the focus shifted to other things.
Today, I take pleasure in announcing that I no longer have those feelings about Father's Day. In fact, I look forward to celebrating all the great fathers in my life! You see, while I may not have an earthly father, I do have a Heavenly Father who has replaced all my sadness with joy. Because of my relationship with Him, I no longer have to yearn for a father because I have a Heavenly Father who is still with me and I am truly a Daddy's girl!
Although I didn't get the opportunity for my dad to experience all the milestones in my life, my Heavenly Father strategically placed real, Godly men in my life who did. I have an uncle who stepped up and fulfilled the role as best he could and I gained cousins who are more like sisters because of their dad's presence in my life. Because my Heavenly Father loves me, He gave me a man of God as a Pastor who gives me Godly instructions and wisdom for me to follow and my life is truly blessed because of my partnering with him and his family. Because my Heavenly Father loves me, He blessed me with an awesome, extraordinary husband who loves my two daughters as his own and I have the opportunity to watch all three of our daughters mature into virtuous, intelligent young women because they are able to experience LT's unconditional love. Yes! My Heavenly Father knows what I need and when I need it! He never leaves nor forsakes me and He makes sure I am always taken care of.
Because I was younger, I wasted a lot of time dreading Father's Day and opportunities to celebrate with others. Now that I am older (and wiser), I will not spend another Father's Day focused on what I am missing because my dad is not here. Instead, I will celebrate the wonderful fathers that God has placed in my life!
Happy Father's Day!
Selah!
~TC
*If you liked this WHOAment, you may also enjoy reading "Father's Day Tribute: Lorenzo Thompson, Our Hero!"