When a Father Isn't There

God the Father and Angel by Giovan Francesco Barbieri
source: Wikimedia Commons the free media repository

Growing up without a father can be a scary experience for a little child.  There are times of feeling self conscious and worried for the future. Having grown up with only a mother in the home and no relationship with my father, save for the knowledge of his name,  I remember wondering what he looked like and if he thought of us.  For I had never met him and I was told he left shortly after I was born and had seen me only once as an infant.  Without a picture and only a name there was little to fill the void of a father.   Such an experience can be confusing for a little one.  With a great deal of uncertainty around me I remember vividly praying to God the Father late one night while I was still very young.  In prayer I asked Him to step in and take the place of father in our family.  To watch over my mom and I.  This was a tear filled request, one that came straight from the heart. It was an anchor for me to have God the Father to turn to in prayer.  It made me feel safe which was so important and filled the hole that lay in my heart.

Tonight as I was falling asleep and thinking about tomorrow being Father's Day the memory of this early prayer to God the Father returned to me.  It was then that I realized how important it had been.  Who would I have turned to if I had not had Our Heavenly Father to ask for help? I also thought of the many children who share my childhood experience or something like it;  who may be feeling alone or questioning if their parents love them.  The knowledge of a Father in Heaven who is always there is a grounding force,  one that tethers a little one to love and security. Today with so many broken families, faith in a loving Father is more important than ever before.  It may be a life jacket for our children in a turbulent sea. 

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