Today represents a lot of things. And for some reason my mind has been preoccupied with a lot of them today. Today we celebrate our fathers, but with that comes hurt too. Some of you have been abused, abandoned, or hurt by your father. Today is painful because the image of your father is faint, non-existent, or heart-breaking. Still others of you feel the very pain of wanting but not being able to be a father yourselves. And today others face the hurt of losing their father and it's surreal. Brokeness is very real on a day like today.
Today I faced stories, my own hurt, and the reality of these things amongst the people around me. My heart ached just thinking about each senario. Who would have ever thought that a day meant to celebrate the lives of our fathers, could be such a painful and numbing day?
All this reminded me of one thing that stands true in all these circumstances. Regardless of our past, present, or future...regardless of our hurt and pain...we all have a Father. One who has always been there. One who will never hurt us, leave us, or abandon us. For some that is hard to believe. Having faith in Jesus alone is a hard concept, and a crazy one. But to believe that He will never leave us on top of that, in light of the hurt, abandonement, and loss that we've faced first-hand...why should we believe that about a God we can't see? ...Because it's true. Because He won't leave us, forsake us, or disown us. Because God sent His son to save us. We have a mighty Father in heaven. With all the hurt we've faced, I've realized that today is a good day to celebrate our everlasting Father. Today was hard for me in a lot of ways, but when I realized that today was just as much about earthly fathers as it is about God the Father, suddenly my heart was delighted. I wanted to celebrate...I became very thankful. And in that I found ways to be thankful about my circumstances here on earth, in light of my Daddy in Heaven. It's amazing how that happens.
I don't know if any of this is making sense. There is so much I wish I could convey, but I don't know how in this moment. I guess I just wanted to remind those of you who were hurting today, that we also have a reason to be joyful. Today was Father's Day in heaven too. In fact, I think every day is Father's Day in heaven. Although our relationships with our fathers may be broken, non-existent, distant, or temporarily stopped...today we can look to heaven and remember Jesus, who forever wants to maintain that father-child relationship with us. He wants us to invest our lives in Him as He does in ours. Today is a day Jesus deserves my thanks, as is everyday. In the midst of my hurt I became joyful in knowing my faithful Father.
Just like any other day, today was His day.
Today I faced stories, my own hurt, and the reality of these things amongst the people around me. My heart ached just thinking about each senario. Who would have ever thought that a day meant to celebrate the lives of our fathers, could be such a painful and numbing day?
All this reminded me of one thing that stands true in all these circumstances. Regardless of our past, present, or future...regardless of our hurt and pain...we all have a Father. One who has always been there. One who will never hurt us, leave us, or abandon us. For some that is hard to believe. Having faith in Jesus alone is a hard concept, and a crazy one. But to believe that He will never leave us on top of that, in light of the hurt, abandonement, and loss that we've faced first-hand...why should we believe that about a God we can't see? ...Because it's true. Because He won't leave us, forsake us, or disown us. Because God sent His son to save us. We have a mighty Father in heaven. With all the hurt we've faced, I've realized that today is a good day to celebrate our everlasting Father. Today was hard for me in a lot of ways, but when I realized that today was just as much about earthly fathers as it is about God the Father, suddenly my heart was delighted. I wanted to celebrate...I became very thankful. And in that I found ways to be thankful about my circumstances here on earth, in light of my Daddy in Heaven. It's amazing how that happens.
I don't know if any of this is making sense. There is so much I wish I could convey, but I don't know how in this moment. I guess I just wanted to remind those of you who were hurting today, that we also have a reason to be joyful. Today was Father's Day in heaven too. In fact, I think every day is Father's Day in heaven. Although our relationships with our fathers may be broken, non-existent, distant, or temporarily stopped...today we can look to heaven and remember Jesus, who forever wants to maintain that father-child relationship with us. He wants us to invest our lives in Him as He does in ours. Today is a day Jesus deserves my thanks, as is everyday. In the midst of my hurt I became joyful in knowing my faithful Father.
Just like any other day, today was His day.
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