Growing up, I used to dread Father's Day. It was the one day out of the year that I never wanted to come. It was hard and if I was honest? It hurt. Sometimes more than I wanted to admit. I knew that God was my Father, but did that cause me to always jump up and down for a day celebrating earthly fathers and declare my joy? Nope. I still had wounds deep in my heart from an earthly father and facing a day celebrating great earthly dads was just plain hard. Maybe you feel that too. Maybe, you too, have tried to hide your pain behind a smile as you just hope the day passes more quickly. Maybe you've been wounded by an absent father, by an abusive father, by a selfish father. Maybe your father was nowhere near what you had hoped and the person who was supposed to help you learn about love actually hurt you before anyone else could. Or maybe the pain of Father's Day in your heart really wasn't your father's fault at all. Maybe you lost your dad at an early age and you barely remember him, or maybe the loss of his life is more recent and stings more than you thought it would. Whatever your situation, I understand the pain that Father's Day can sometimes cause. And so if you're fighting back tears today, here are 3 truths I want you to cling to: 1. It's okay to cry. Often I would bury my pain. I would hide it and smile and pretend that it didn't actually hurt and I wasn't actually broken over it. It's like putting a band aid over a deep wound. It'll cover it up, but it won't heal it and in the end it'll only provide an atmosphere to cause deeper pain, an infection. Cry if you need to. Let it out. Weep. It is one hundred percent okay to cry. Even Jesus wept. (John 11:35). It's okay to cry and admit what you're feeling and I promise you...you'll never cry alone. Jesus is right there, embracing you and giving you the strength to dry your eyes. Because while you might not feel okay right now, He's mending your heart every day. 2. This part of your story is not for nothing. I used to ask God, "Why did I have to go through what I went through with my earthly dad? Why did I have to be the one with this painful story?" And the truth is that I sometimes still ask that. But what I've learned? God doesn't allow anything in my life to go to waste. Not even the messy, broken, painful parts. And a beautiful thing that He has shown me? Because I have walked through this painful dad journey, I can help someone else walk through their own painful dad journey too. I know how it feels. I know what it's like. And because of that I can meet someone in their brokenness in a way I might not have been able to if I hadn't walked through it myself. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). God can turn your greatest pain into your greatest story of His goodness. Trust me on that one. 3. He's making you stronger, day by day. While I may not always feel stronger, I know that He is making me stronger in the pain. He is giving me His strength, His strength is filling my weakness, and He is giving me the ability to do all things through Him. He's doing the same for you too. You may feel weak here and tired. You might not have the energy to face another Father's Day of pain. But trust me on this one too--He's not leaving you there. He's filling you with strength. You can do this in Him. Because in Him, you are capable of more than you could possibly ever imagine. Keep your chin up today, friend. I know today might be hard. I know many days might be hard when you don't always understand why you've had to walk this journey. And while the pain might stay, you still must know--your Heavenly Father is the greatest Father you will ever have. It might sound cliché and a little hard to grasp and that's okay. But it's true. He is the Father that is never leaving, never walking out, never letting you go, never quitting on you. He loves you. Beyond your wildest imaginations and beyond what you could possibly grasp. Rest in that today. Keep being brave.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2019
Categories |