“Father to the fatherless…” (Psalm 68:5 NLT)
It’s getting to be quite May. May has always been my favorite month, (birthday, Mother’s Day, anniversary), plus the tulips beside my house are blooming and the whole world beyond my window is a lovely shade of brand-new green.
It’s funny to me how late spring has been in coming, this year, of all years. May makes the one year mark since my dad went Home. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, mostly because I was asked to share my testimony yesterday at MOPs.
This month marks a year since God has truly become my Father.
Before this year, father was a word that made me cringe, quite honestly. I dreaded the ‘Dad’ aisle at the card store because I didn’t have a hallmark moment with my earthly father. Any comparing of my heavenly dad to my earthly dad only marred the image of perfection the Bible proclaimed. Like Mack, in The Shack, my ideas of ‘dad’ were deeply damaged by my experiences growing up.
When my dad passed last May, my Heavenly Father showed up in the first few hours. He sent me scripture and with it, solace:
“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.” (John 14:18 NLT)
He set out to prove to me in the year that followed that He is, like the popular song says; a good, good Father. Now as May breaks way into a new year, I can look back and see promises met with a Father’s steady love and faithful parenting.
At an early prayer breakfast yesterday, I caught a firsthand glimpse of Father-love. A baby girl, just learning to navigate the big, old world, sat at her parents feet throughout the program. She’d crawl away from time to time, but never got too far before a watchful Mom or Dad brought her back. They were careful to keep their pride and joy in their sights. At one point, the baby girl was playing, independently on the floor before her father’s feet. She caught the eye of her proud father; he wiggled outstretched fingers in invitation. She melted into giggles of joy, abandoned play and near-burst into waiting arms.
In that moment, I heard my Father. His strong and steady voice rung solid through my war-weary frame. “That’s how I love you, Daughter. Just like that.”
All that affection, all that joy and delight, that’s the level of relationship and revelry our Father God is offering. Why are we so reluctant to accept? Why do we allow fallen fathers to wield such damage to our most life-giving and loving relationship?
Earthly dad’s can be tough, but they don’t have define how we feel about our Heavenly Father. If we’ll allow Him, He’ll painstakingly rewrite our hearts initial impression of what it means to be a dad. And eventually, we’ll learn to delight in who we are in Him.
“How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you won’t let me.” (Luke 13:34 NLT)
Father God, today we want to let let You. Pull us close and deep. Rewrite our misperceptions of Father. Let us learn to delight in You as You keep us from eternal harm. Rearrange our understanding of fatherhood, align it with the Kingdom meaning of our earthly word. Help us to see You as You really are. Amen.
