You Always Have a Father in God
We always have a Father in God, no matter if we’ve grown up without a father in the flesh or not.
There were many years before I understood that God is my heavenly father while here on this earth and for eternity. I grew up in a divorced family where I would see my father, or should I say biological father, as much as I can remember. In my junior high/high school years there wasn’t that father figure like all my friends. The majority of my friends came from a traditional full house, where I was being raised by a single mom who was hard working, loving and always made sure that my sister and I never went without.
I always hoped to have that father who would be there to complete our family of three. My hopes became reality in 1979 when my mom met my soon-to-be step-father, who would later be called “Dad.” As my faith continues to grow and I look back, I realize that it was God who sent Jack to us.
In 1978 I was a princess on the Monrovia Days Royal Court. One of my duties was to sell ride tickets at the Monrovia Days carnival. One evening my mom took me to the park and it was there she met Jack (who was a member of the association who put the carnival and parade together), and 10 months later in 1980 they were married.
As part of the royal court there was a Coronation Ball where one of us princesses would be crowned queen for all of the Monrovia Days festivities. At the Ball the other princesses were being escorted by their fathers for the formal ceremony. It was my grandfather who excitedly accepted and walked me down to stand in front of all the guests anxiously awaiting the announcement of who was going to be crowned queen. Though I was not crowned, I was grateful to have my grandfather by my side knowing that I was loved just as much as all the other princesses.
It goes without saying, that being a father comes in different packages. For me, it was a grandfather and a step-father. God looks at us the same way that these two wonderful men looked at me. A father is not just in title alone. A father is one who loves, is there when others aren’t, keeps us safe, and holds us dear.
Jack was proud to be called dad. He loved his natural born children and he loved and watched over his two step-daughters. He never made my sister and I feel that we were any different. His arms were always open and he gave us love as if we were his own. God is the same way. His word tells us that he will never leave or forsake us; he knows every hair on our head; he knows what we need; and he never changes.… Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5
the very hairs of your head are all numbered…
Luke 12:7
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns–and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Mathew 6:26
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Whether your father is here today, non-existent or has passed on, know that there is a Heavenly Father who loves you dearly.
