Overheard:
“Happy Father’s Day, I guess.”
There are many a meme on Facebook, many sermons from pulpits, innumerable blogs on the internet, and gazillions of cards stuffed into envelopes that will be sharing wonderfully affirming and loving words about fathers today.
And that is a wonderful thing…for many. Congratulations to all those with terrific dads – truy delighted for you, I am
But there are others among us who despise and detest Father’s Day. There are those among us whose memories of dear ol’ dad are a less than wonderful.
You see, for them, the word “dad” means “terrorist.” The memories of dad still cause deep feelings of shame, self-contempt, and of being “less than.”
Memories of words used as hatchets on a soul. Memories of hands (and feet) that were harsh and cruel instead of gentle and strong.
Memories of a mother or a sister treated more like an object most foul than a person to be cherished and loved.
There are memories so painful that the mental video causes the heart to cringe still today.
No apologies, no heart contrite over the evil inflicted, no repentance for the death of the relationship, no authentic remorse over abandoning the role of father as God intended it to be from the beginning.
Thank God, that isn’t the end of the story!
Praise God that He is a better father than even the best human father could possibly be!
Rejoice to the heavens that the Heavenly Father is personally invested in His beloved children, even when they are at their worst!
And place your deepest trust in the love of the One who intentionally and purposefully made you to fill a specific place in His plans and His Kingdom!
In God’s divine and infinite “beingness”, there is nothing unintentional, nothing insignificant, nothing unplanned for, and nothing unknown.
When I look back at the gross mistreatment my family and I suffered, I stand with Joseph in Egypt and proclaim, “You meant fully to do me evil; BUT GOD intended it for good!”
God has brought me out of that darkness, and He has poured deep healing and comfort into my life. As a result, He has used me almost daily to pour that same comfort and healing into the lives of multiple hundreds who have suffered as we did.
God did not cause what I suffered anymore than He caused you to lie the last time you did, or wronged the last person you wronged.
Instead, God knew what He had made me of, and He knew what He was going to need me for, and He knew that I had what it takes to get to the other side of the darkness and into the light.
And it is standing and reflecting the Light of the World that gives my life meaning.
So, for those who have cherished memories and learned important lessons and shared precious times with the fathers, I am delighted for you.
For those of us whose experience was otherwise, there is a Father in Heaven whose delight in each of us is as if we were each His favorite.
And that’s the kind of Father love that only God Himself is capable of.
Soli Deo Gloria
Blessed Father’s Day
Words Matter: Refining the Conversation 
“Rejoice to the heavens that the Heavenly Father is personally invested in His beloved children, even when they are at their worst!” Amen! This truth still blows me away. Thank you, Lord!