Every Little Girl Wants a Daddy Who Loves Her, Even You and Me

Sharon JaynesDealing with Your Past, Mamma Moments with God 66 Comments

I hugged my pink stuffed poodle to my chest. We were about to have a serious conversation, even though I would be the only one talking. My ten-year-old self looked into his black button eyes and confided the empty ache that I dare not admit to anyone. I didn’t say the words out loud. I didn’t need to. We were close like that.

I wish I had a daddy who loved me, I began. I wish I had a daddy who would kiss me on the cheek when he came home from work, tickle my sides after catching me in a game of chase, and carry me piggyback in the park. I wish I had a daddy who liked me. Hugged me. Said nice things about me.

I wish my daddy didn’t ignore me and act like I wasn’t in the room. I wish I wasn’t afraid of him. I wish I had a daddy who loved me. Poodle understood.

I remember sitting at my friend’s house watching her daddy stroke her long red hair as she sat in his lap and leaned her head on his chest. For the two of them, it was nothing special. To me it was magical. I tried not to stare. Mr. Jack loved his daughters, and I wished I were one of them.

The scars of being an unwanted child, an abused child, or even an ignored child run deep. They cut against the very grain of what God intended the relationship between a parent and child was created to be. But even the deep trenches left on a little girl heart, trenches cut like careless tires through soggy earth, can be filled in with God’s love and healed by His grace.

No parent is perfect. None can be available all the time—physically or emotionally. From time-to-time parents are too controlling, too protective, or too permissive. They lose their temper, patience, and control. They fly off the handle and fly by the seat of their pants. All parents have feet of clay—including me!

Maybe that’s your story, hopefully not. But here’s something that is your story, and mine. We all have a daddy who loves us. That Father is God.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you… your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, (Matthew 6:6,8-9)

Of all the names Jesus used for God, He used Father more than any other…and He invites us to do the same.

Paul wrote: “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6 NLT).

Think about that. The God of the universe who created the heavens and the earth; who always has been and always will be; who is all knowing, all powerful, and present everywhere at once—that same God invites you to call Him Abba (meaning Daddy), Father. He said, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters” (2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV).

One of my friend’s granddaughters taught me a great lesson. Gayle was running errands and had her granddaughter, Carlie, and Carlie’s little friend in the backseat. These two little girls were born on the same day, in the same hospital, and now lived in adjacent apartments. When Carlie came to grandma’s house, her little friend often came too. Carlie knew her daddy; her friend had never known hers.

While riding in the car, Carlie’s little friend said, “I wish I had a daddy like you have a daddy.”

Carlie replied, “Oh, you do have a daddy.”

“No, I don’t. I want a daddy like you have a daddy. I wish I had a daddy.”

“But you do have a daddy,” Carlie insisted. “We all have a daddy. God is our daddy. He’s everybody’s daddy.”

Gayle looked in her rearview mirror and saw Carlie’s friend hold up her hands in exasperation. “Why has nobody ever told me this?”

No matter what kind of father you had as a child, here’s one thing I want you to remember: you have a Heavenly Father who loves and adores you. You are the apple of your Daddy’s eye (Psalm 17:8).

Do you believe that? If so, leave a comment that says, “I have a daddy who loves me!!!”

Heavenly Father, oh how I love You. Thank You for adopting me into Your family and making me your child. Thank You for being my heavenly parent who loves me unconditionally and unceasingly. I am so blessed to be Your child. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Digging Deeper

God’s names reveal His character and His ways, and Father is only one of them. Want to know more? I teamed up with two of my ministry partners to write an interactive devotional, Knowing God by Name—40 names of God that help us know Him more intimately, clearly, and powerfully. Click here to learn more.

P.S. If you purchased a copy of Momma Moments with God, I have a gift for you when you help spread the word! Leave a review on Amazon.com, send me screenshot of your review, and I will send you a FREE laminated Prayer Card of your choice.  Simply email the screen shot, your address, and the prayer card you prefer to sharon@sharonjaynes.com. (Your purchased did not have to be made on Amazon to leave a review.)

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Comments 66

    2. My granddaughter (17) has suffered, for the past 4-5 years, a father who cannot show her affection, support, grace, or care because he hates her mother (they are divorced) so much. He has since remarried and the stepmother runs the house. Her mother & I have been putting her in Jesus’ Hands for many years. She only has to be in that house 2 w/e out of the month, 1 week of summer, and 1 school break. We are all in ‘countdown’ mode for it to end (1more year). If the Spirit so moves you, we would covet your prayers.

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  3. Thank you to my Heavenly Father for always leading, protecting and guiding me in my life’s journey. Thank you for the blessing of being a mother to my now young adult children. You have always made sure we lived a life of overflow. I’m grateful for the faith I have in you. In Jesus name AMEN.

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  4. Eu creio com meu coração e com minha mente que eu tenho um Pai celeste que me ama. Os meus filhos tem um Pai celeste que os aceita e os ama.

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    1. Thank you God for loving me. Holy Spirit please fill the void from the dad that ignored me, never said anything good about me. I know I’m 70, but it still hurts to be his day. I love you Daddy God.

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  5. Thank you for this reminder of our Abba (Daddy). My physical daddy died when I was a teen. I was heartbroken. His friend took me aside and told me I would be ok because I have God for my Daddy. I have clung to that knowledge – though sometimes I forget and don’t feel like he’s there. It is always me who has moved away from Him. He never moves away from me. That unconditional love is hard to understand, but I am so thankful I can talk to Him like you talked to your Poodle.

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  6. I have a Daddy who loves me. He is everyone’s Daddy. And that has made all the difference! I am so very thankful that I found out about this Super Daddy when I was very young and needed Him. Now, if I meet a child who, like all of us has an imperfect daddy, I make sure the child is introduced to SuperDaddy.

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  11. Thank you Lord for being my daddy, Thank you for Loving me, noticing me, listening to me, protecting me and standing up for me and forgiving me. In your mighty name, in Jesus name Amen.

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  12. Before reading ti’s, God had already told me I am the apple of His eye. This just confirmed that. Thank you for this ,it blessed me so much.

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  13. This really resonated with me today. I use to long for what I seen other dad’s being like. When I would stay with my cousin I seen the affection and tenderness my uncle showed toward his three daughters. Then I would see how my best friends dad would treat her so respectfully and kind. I knew things were not like that at my house. I longed to be loved the way I had seen other fathers loving their children.
    Much later in life my dad surrendered to the Lord. He had many issues, health problems, and unresolved hurts from his past. I forgive my dad for not being what I saw other dad’s being to their children, and maybe he just didn’t know how. I think as an old man there were many regrets. Even with dementia he had said he wished he hadn’t been so hard on his children. He did many other things right and was a hard worker. I wish dad had of been different, but the blessing that has come from all of this is that I learned to lean more on my Heavenly Father! It truly has taken my relationship with God so much deeper! If I had a different type of earthly father than I did it would have not been the same. I’ve learned to take my problems and hurts to Him. I love how He speaks to me in so many different ways! Sometimes it’s through the same scripture verse that keeps showing up, or showing up in a text message from a friend, or even a beautiful sunset that makes me smile! I see God in so many ways that I probably would not have noticed if my life had been different. I love how God takes hurts and pains and applies healing! I’m never alone and He is always with me! Anytime I need a daddy talk, He listens!
    He loves me and He likes me!

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    1. This is absolutely true. I had an earth dad who divorced his family, not just my mom. I’ve seen him twice since the divorce, once when I was two and again when I was 4 years old. My mom taught us to rely on the Lord, we attended Catholic Church and catechism. My earth dad’s distance caused me to have only one Father, my Heavenly Father. He has always been close & available, He provides, protects, loves, & cares for me in ways no earthly parent ever could. It caused me to trust Him far more than I trust people, (that can be a problem too). But His gift of grace and miraculous interactions and interventions are beyond what I could ever think to ask for. We all have hurts, we live in a fallen world and suffering is intended to draw us close to Him, our beautiful, perfect Father. What a gift we have in Him.

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  14. God knows my struggles with calling him Daddy, Father, Abba, Dad, Dada Papa. Any of it. He is gracious and knows this. God and I have had many conversations about this. He understands my why. He was there for the physical mental and sexual abuse…….starting at birth. They understand I have C-PTSD and they are healing it. It will be a lifetime of recovery. I’m 58 and still working on it.

    I call them Creator, Brother, Teacher, Healer.

    But Father…….feels like an insult to them.

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  18. I have a daddy who loves me! Because of alcoholism, my earthly daddy didn’t provide what I needed. His childhood was rough, probably no affection from his alcoholic daddy. But…BUT! my heavenly daddy has provided for all my needs. Learning to trust Him with my earthly needs was very hard. It has been a work in progress.

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  20. My first husband and I were divorced when my son was 1. He never did anything with my son while he was growing up even though I encouraged interaction. I remarried later to a wonderful man who was a good father to him but the hurt in my son was still there. The hurt reflected in his life choices unfortunately. He’s chosen to hold onto this bitterness even though he’s said he doesn’t care anymore. I pray for him to receive Gods love and he says he has but I still see the hurt. Please pray with me for a complete surrender. He can’t undo his past but his future can be

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    2. Praying for your son! We went through similar difficulties that were close to death for my son. Our Father was so good to us and my son is now feeling so much better, living and thriving in the world. He will answer your prayers!

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    3. Praying for your son! We went through similar difficulties that were close to death for my son. Our Father was so good to us and my son is now feeling so much better, living and thriving in the world. He will answer your prayers!

      I have a Daddy who loves me! I am the apple of his eye. I love him so deeply and I’m so grateful to have his love. I miss not having a father who could express his love due to his mental illness. I had a really rough time growing up but my true Father was always there, rescuing me time and time again. My only regret is that I didn’t know about him until much later in life, but this is how God made me who I am and I completely trust his ways. Praying for all of you who have felt the pain of this hole in your heart . God bless you.

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  21. I didn’t grow up with a father. My parents divorced before I was born and mom never remarried. I met my father for the first time when I was 24 years old and only twice after that. The concept of “daddy” is foreign to me. It’s something from TV. I have absolute reverence for God as my father but thinking of him as “daddy” just isn’t right for me. I wish I had that intimacy in my heart but I just don’t. Kids used to ask me if I missed my dad. No, I would say, you can’t miss something you never had.
    Thank you, Sharon, for your transapent posts. They make me understand my life a little better because I know I was never alone.
    God bless you!

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  22. I have a daddy who loves me just as I am because HE made me this way! Oh how my daddy loves me! I love the song “Oh How He Loves” by David Crowder Band. He is jealous for me! How wonderful to know that. No one has ever been jealous for me except God and now my new husband.

    Thank you Father for loving me and making me who I am, just the way I am.

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  24. I have a Daddy that loves me also!! He will never disappointment me, and will always be there whenever I need him! Thankyou God for loving a sinner like me, even when I don’t deserve it. I’m just AMAZED how much you love us! I love you daddy!

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  25. I understand that God is my father. However, on this side of Heaven not having a physical father hurts; even at 51. Just as I did when I was growing up, I still look at my friends who have fathers in their life and I long for that special relationship. Sadly, for many of us who never knew the love of an earthly father, that hurt won’t be healed on this side of Heaven.

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  26. This was my exact experience growing up. Living in fear every day was anxiety producing, which I still deal with today. Fortunately the church in my rural area welcomed my brother and I. We grew up knowing our Father God loved us. That made and still makes a big difference.

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  28. I was blessed to have had an earthly daddy who loved me. I am blessed to have a Heavenly Father as well . Life has taught me in many ways how close my father God has walked with me through life closing me before and behind. There are no words to express enough how grateful I am. I loved my daddy and I love my ABBA.

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  30. God is is my Daddy, my one true Father ! I’m so very greatful.
    In reading your devotional Sharon, of your prayers while holding your stuffed poddle…this could have been my exact prayer. I didn’t understand why I was utterly shunned and ignored. My sister was born 2 1/2 years after me. For some reason my Dad gave her the hair stroking and some attentiveness. As our mom raised us in a Christian way and modeled gods ways for my sister and I, I never thought in my child’s mind to pray about this.
    After I got married at 20 and had my first child the following year, this was the time my dad interacted with me as if I was a person who existed in his life. The relationship has always been void of real substantial emotion. I realized about 10 years ago that without a loving daddy figure in my life, I wasn’t able to understand my heavenly father’s true love and care for me. I continually pray on this and God had revealed his deep love for me and has always been with me through each stage of my life. I’m now in my mid 60’s…my mom and sister had both passed awa quite a number of years ago. My dad is 86 and aging quickly…I’ve lived with him now for almost 5 years. God is actively working on our behalf as we are in this situation together. God daily envelopes me in his love with his divine hugs.

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  33. This revelation was one of the most important of my life. My Dad left when I was one and barely came around. I never understood how he could do that to me. I felt unlovable. Then I grew up got married and my two daughters fathers did the exact same thing to them. We all have a “daddy wound” that has caused a lot of issues. One day God reminded me Himself that “I have always had a Daddy” because He promised to never leave me or forsake me. Praise be to God my Dad🙌

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  35. Thank you Sharon for your post today. I love how you are always so open and personal, it is like talking to a girlfriend. Yes I have a Heavenly Father that loves me and is always by my side. I’m like that one lady that said she could not call him daddy. For me I just think of that as disrespectful but it is up to each person how they feel. I did have a wonderful christian Dad and I never felt comfortable calling him father. Thank you again for your devotions I just wish they were more often. God bless you.

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  40. Abba Father you are my precious daddy! Thank you for loving me unconditionally ❤️! I am so grateful for your love and that you gave me a wonderful earthly Father also who You have blessed me with for 68 years. He will be 99 years old in 2 months, my loving Mother is 97 and they are both a gift from God. I live with them so they can stay in their own home. God is truly a wonderful Father!

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  51. ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ was the philosophy of our parents. Neither one was warm, tender and sensitive to my sister and my needs. We even called our mother ‘mommy dearest’.
    So in fifth grade I met Jesus at Camp Sandy Cove in MD. Finally unconditional love abounded in my life! A love I craved and am filled with for 58 years! So grateful and so immensely blessed to rely on The Father whose love is eternal!

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  52. I do have a daddy in heaven, two of them now. I am thankful for many things about my dad, but I was ignored, neglected, and abused by my father when I was young as an older man he stood by me, but I was always afraid of my dad and was until the end, when he was weak and needed me. Thanks Sharon for your heartfelt words today, they are so so true for me. I have a daddy and he is the best daddy in the world!! Love you Jesus and Father God.

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  55. “I have a Daddy who loves me”. What a thing to behold cause I have always struggled with the idea of love….Lord teach me to live – You and my neighbors, Amen

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