Yesterday
was Father's Day. And for me it is painful because my father has been
in heaven for some time. The pain of his being gone still stings in my
heart and mind. And yet this year I found it to be even more painful...
How do you keep your own child from feeling the same stinging in her
heart and mind? And sadly in our world it isn't because of a season of
life coming to an end. It is from poor
choices that her father is not involved in her life. Being in jail
certainly puts a dent in a world where Father's Day has become such an
important day for families. And while I understand about a Heavenly
Father who transcends all the grief of this world... I found it easier
yet again to just shield her from the fact that yesterday was a day to
celebrate Fathers...
And in many ways it means spending a day
alone. Churches fill the day with messages of Fathers. And while it is
a good thing for most people... Children who are the victims of
Domestic Violence might not have a father who is active in their life.
They can't even say like I can that their father has gone to heaven....
If they are to be truthful they are telling the world that their father
hurt either them or their mother, or even both of them. They feel
abandoned by their father thru no fault of their own actions. And yet
also feel scared of them. It creates a challenge in teaching a child
faith in a God who is our Father. It is not impossible, but it takes
patience. And most years just avoiding a day at church where you see
the appreciation of those who can share the day with their own fathers.
Which brings me to my question... Why isn't the church using this day
to transform the lives of the children who are left with a single
mother? Why are we so focused on what we can see and touch and a mass
market system that floods the day with cute items to purchase for our
fathers. And yet we choose to leave the children caught in this bind in
the dark and feeling like they are missing out on an important day in
our culture. So stop and think... What can you do for a child who is
facing Father's Day next year without one? How can you make them feel
like they still belong and have the best father than anyone could wish
for? How can you help them learn and understand that while the world
wants this to be a day about earthly fathers... That the church is a
place where we should be focusing on not our earthly fathers... but our
Heavenly Father... Which is there for us all and doesn't make poor
choices which removes Himself from the lives of His children? And how
can we make these children understand what the love of a father is truly
like... So that they learn not to judge God based on the example of
their own father, but that they can see that God is the PERFECT
FATHER!!!?
