I’m posting over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today, and I thought you might be blessed by this too. With Father’s Day just a few days away, I want you to know this…no matter what your relationship with your earthly father is or was like, you have a Daddy who loves you!
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 is God the Father. Click & Tweet!
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,” Calie 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. Click & Tweet! You are the apple of your Daddy’s eye (Psalm 17:8).
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, cares for me unendingly, and provides for all my needs. I am so blessed to be Your child. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Leave a comment and tell me one thing you LOVE about your HEAVENLY FATHER. I’ll randomly pick one comment and send a FREE Praying the Names of God prayer card.
Do you ever feel that you’re just not enough? Well, God says you are! Join Sharon in her book, Enough: Silencing the Lies that Steal Your Confidence and learn how to fight the enemy lies and stand on God’s truth. It also includes a Bible study guide for those who want to dig deeper into God’s Word.
So excited! Seven more weeks until the release of Lovestruck:Discovering God’s Design for Romance, Marriage, and Sex
ual Intimacy from the Song of Solomon!
Comments 35
Thank you for this. With my parents I felt that was never good enough. But with God, I know that He cherishes me. That He is for me.
At age 74, I still need a daddy! I was born to a mother of six children who was widowed when she was three months pregnant with me. They were very poor, and my mother wasn’t well…I was also not a well baby. I was adopted by a wonderful Christian family, and fifty years later was reunited with my birth family! My life has had a reason for being blessed by being adopted not just once, but twice!!! Praise God for making sure I have been in the right place at the right time!
My Heavenly Father is always there for me and eager to listen, help, lead and understand. I love His ability to love me unconditionally.
He loves us unconditionally, always and forever. Thank You, Lord
I did have a wonderful earthly father. He was a busy man. Held 3 jobs to provide for us. We never really got to know him. But I do know at the age of 5, I knew God was there. And I always talked with him. And still do today at 72. So grateful for my earthly dad. And eternally grateful for my Heavenly Father.
This article made me cry…my own father, now deceased, was not a dad. He sexually molested my sister and I when teens and tried to rape me. I have carried this empty spot in my heart for a father who loves, respects and honors me. I have now found this in my Heavenly Father. It wasn’t until I heard the song Good, good Father played on Fathers Day at my church that I began to feel this way…and now this article, which confirms to me my new discovery…my Father above!
That he loves me
He never looks at my weakness. He loves me just as I am.
I love my heavenly Father’s patience! Oh, He is so patient with me! He never gives up, never says quit, never says, “that’s the last time”. He always picks me back up and sets my feet pointing in the right direction, encourages me to start again, and gives me an encouraging pat on the head and a loving smile as I begin again. (I feel it). My daddy has great patience!
I have to tell myself this all the time now since both my parents now gone. As my pastor said I am not an orphan!!!! We have heavenly Father we will spend eternity with and see my earthly parents❤❤
I love that my heavenly Father is always FAITHFUL! God is so good! thank you!!
Wow! What an encouraging read! Brought me to tears.
I love that my Heavenly Father will never leave me nor will He ever forsake me. ❤
I love that He is ever near us as it tells us in Zephania (sp) about Him rejoicing over us with singing! I love that about Him!
I love your writings but every time I read “click and tweet” it annoys me. I don’t know why but to me it cheapens your words. “Tell the world what I said so I have more followers” is how it comes through to me. It’s not what your plan is but it just sounds like a marketing move.
Author
I am so sorry you feel that way, and it saddens my heart. There is so much out there in the twitter world, this gives people a chance to tweet something positive.
My Father continually comforts me and gives me strength.
I am so thankful for the book my Father made for me, always telling me how much He loves me ~ the Bible.
“Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so”
I grew up with a father that “loved” me, according to my mother….then why was he so hard on me growing up….I was confused……he taught me to do what he said do, not as he did….double standards was hard to cope with….I truly found my “Abba Father” when I was saved and He has never left me without affection, approval, and unconditional love…..He is faithful!!! I love HIM!!!
Thank you for sharing this. Holidays can become depressing when you feel as though you can’t fit in, but with god I can fit in in his way not mine
He beckons and woos me, calls me chosen and beloved daughter who seeks me out. If only I didn’t disappoint Him so much and fall flat on my face every time as I try to understand HIs ways. I fail Him daily but He never fails me!
I love that he knows all of my faults, he knows when I fall short and every weakness, yet he loves me through them. He loves me unconditionally, even when I don’t deserve it, and I’m so grateful he believes I do. Agape love. I’m thankful he loves me so much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you my dear, sweet, omniscient, loving Father in heaven. You have been with me for many, many years – whether I was being stubborn or adoring toward you. I do not even want to think where I would be without you in my heart and life. All the praises to you, my Father.
I sat and read your words about my heaven father I cried and cried and cried even more dear Sharon as my fahter was very much more like the person you had. I am a survivor of very horrific abuses , to bad and many to mention. I was 39 i am now 65 when my heavenly father personally rescued me and asked me to join his family
I am now a very proud member of my heavenly fathers family where i am very welcomed and loved by many other souls. I am so loved and valued and he even provides loving other folks who speak kind and God given words over me to be the beginning of a new life created by him to serve others in his name
thank you so much for your posts and email sharon i so truly value every one
love you becca
This is profound. Because a non-existent relationships some of us had had with our fathers, we struggle in our relationships with our husbands.Because of the yearning that we have for a father’s love,we expect our husbands to fill/quench it, we don’t feel they love us enough, when it’s only our heavenly father who can fill that yearning.
My heart struggles daily. My father and stepmother and half-sister have cut all ties with me because I decided to finally, once and for all, stand up for myself after years of trying to explain the hurt I felt over favoritism of my stepmothers kids. My stepmother calls all the shots and my dad allows it and puts all this on my shoulders. As my heart is in pain, I find it sooo very comforting to know that my heavenly father is ALWAYS there for me and loves me perfectly in every way. These reminders to myself has helped me deal with not only the heartache but also the bitterness that has been overflowing for years. THANK YOU!
God knows how I’m going to break His heart at some point, yet He chooses to loves me continually and unconditionally. Mind boggling!
My Heavenly Father is Awesome.
I love that my Heavenly Father is ALWAYS there no matter what!
One thing I love about my heavenly father is that He is my ever present help in time of need.
I wanted to share something with you so you can use it to encourage other women.
My father was a tremendous godly man. He was very active in the church and lived his life on the job so that others knew something was different about him. Jesus and His word was spoken in our home every day and in every decision and instruction. Prayer was active and powerful. I remember seeing my father lying across his bed weeping loudly. I went to my mom and asked why he was so upset. She told me that Daddy had prayed about something and disobeyed God and my grandfather had paid the price. It was a lengthy story so I will not share it all. Anyway, as you can imagine, that made a huge impression on me.
Sadly, God took my Daddy to heaven when I was 9 and my sister was 7. It was me and my sister and my mom and her mom in our home that had been built by my dad on the front lot of his parents farm. It was a very sad time. I remember my grandma praying that day as the four of us women sat in our formal front living room. She told God that He had taken this vitally important man out of our lives and we desperately needed Him to guide us. She and my mom, and our pastor who was my dad’s best friend, consistently encouraged my sister and me that God was the Father to the fatherless. I heard it so much that it came to be a source of irritation in my teen years.
I am now 54 years old. My walk with Christ has been a strong one all my life largely due to that “tragic” event. I have had to lean on Jesus because there was no father, no one else to comfort me. My husband is a great man and we have a wonderful marriage of nearly 34 years, but he is not my Father and my relationship with my God in my life…well nothing I can compare it to. We have reared 4 children and helped a few extra that lived with us for a while. Always, it is about Jesus and our relationship with Him and Him alone. God can and will fill every part of your “father hole” inside you. I know it. I live it. I experience it every day. I can honestly say, and have shared with others, that as much as I have wanted my daddy here at times in my life, I am thankful to God for taking him from me. If that had not happened I do not believe that I would have the intimate relationship with I have with my Father God.
Please continue to encourage others with this story.
Author
I am so glad you shared this with the group! So encouraging.
I was VERY Blessed to have a great earthly Daddy! I know I have an Awesome Heavenly Father also. My Daddy taught me ALL about my Heavenly Father. I’ve been SO VERY fortunate to have BOTH!!!! It hurts me so much to see and hear about others who don’t. God Loves you!!!
Never had a good relationship with my father. He just can’t love. He has his own sins to bear. But when it effected my daughter, and I spoke up and she spoke up, he kicked us out. It hurts that he would do this to her. I have to sneak to see my mom. But this has made my faith stronger. God has provided in so many ways. God is truly my Father!!
This was so very helpful.🌼
Oftentimes, the things that happen to us ONLY God our Father, can Heal.
No audible words
No physical touch
Just The Assuring, Unending,Ultimate Love of, “Jesus” ❤️🩹👑🕊
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thank you for writing about our Daddy. It is just what I needed to read. Anyone who had a good relationship with their earthly father does not understand the damage to children are not loved by their fathers. Consequently we keep it inside and rarely ever get to share this with anyone else. This year I am being set free of my insecurities and learning that my heavenly Father really does love me.