My Tribute To Father's Day

I grew up in a household with 6 of us siblings fathered by 4 different men. And . . . there were also the fill-in-fathers who ran through our house to service the in-between “father” spaces - all of whom had no desire to step up to play the dad role in our lives. 

At an early age, my biological father fell off the grid - where he remained the majority of my childhood. He resurfaced when his parents induced him to reach out to his two teenaged daughters. But, in 1997, our father wrote a letter, one to my sister and one to me, advising us of his intent to discontinue relationship with us as he’d grown weary of his “fatherly” role. To emphasize his point, he moved and left no forwarding address for me nor for my sister to get ahold of him. And, true to his word, we’ve heard nothing from him for the last 23 years.

To fill the void my father left, I attached my heart, for a period of time, to a soul who seemed to offer, what I misconstrued as, fatherly affection. But, he too eventually slithered off into the darkness of his soul and withheld his heart. 

The effects of abandonment, of being left vulnerable without a father’s love and covering and then too to sustain this same man’s overt rejection as young women, well, you can only imagine the impact on my life and my sister’s. 

Though, for me, Father’s Day does not hold the usual celebratory definitions typically attribute to this day, I do indeed appreciate this holiday. For though I’ve no earthly father to dote upon, I do have a Heavenly Father who adores me, who has my very best interest at heart, who calls me His child and has engraved my name in the palm of His hand. I adore my Father and I am thankful He’s never left me nor has He ever forsaken me. Today I dote my affections upon my Heavenly Father who truly cares for, who truly loves me. 

Today, know that your Heavenly Father loves you, His child, too. 

So, here is to Father’s Day - a beautiful day of love.