When Fathers Aren’t

This day is set aside to remember and honor the men who should be the most important person in each of our lives. Sadly, for many, that person is a fictional character who does not exist. For some, today can be a very sad day; memory barren of the one person who should have been their most ardent fan.

Memories of fathers range from the most wonderful person who ever existed, a good provider, hard worker, on the good side; to non-existent, less than loving, nowhere near perfect, or worse than that, there are those who have horrible memories full of hatred and bitterness.

For those of us who did have loving, nurturing daddies in our lives, today is a day to honorably remember that man.

Unfortunately, way too many men did not fulfill their God-given responsibility. Some started down the road to fatherhood but their lives were shortened and they did not get to complete their job. In many of those cases, others stepped in and fulfilled their roles admirably, serving to love and nurture the fatherless. In other cases, those who could have filled the father role chose not to. Sometimes, stepfathers were good men to all children under their care and sometimes they were not.

I grew up in a community full of children, hundreds of them. Most were two-parent households, but there were a few with only one. I went home with a lot of different kids whose families appeared to me to be as loving as mine. However, I knew they all were not perfect. In one, a son killed his daddy because the man kept beating his mother and siblings.

As I have grown old, I understand that a lot of men who wanted to do right were not emotionally stable enough to be responsible fathers. How do I know? People tell me. No, they don’t walk around spilling their guts about the shortcomings of their dads. Most often, it is after I share a fond memory about me and my dad, that someone may say, “I didn’t have the kind of dad or experience you are talking about,” occasionally followed up with a few facts to support their position.

I guess the worst stories I have heard include men who stayed with their families but lived with so little self-control that they made life miserable for the entire household. In the process, these men either drove the rest of the family to seek refuge in church, responsibility from a loving God, and salvation through Jesus Christ. Or, they caused the family to shy away from church; banished to live a faithless life believing if there were a God, He certainly would have intervened to help them.

On this day, I lift up all of you who had fathers who did not serve as good examples for you or who may have even been horrible to you. I pray that God heal you in spirit and prove to you He is a Father for you. I pray that He make Jesus Christ real to you and that you realize that Jesus is the way to healing your broken spirit. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ.

You may ask how I can make and believe the words of my prayer. Two reasons. 1) I had a loving daddy who served as a good example to me here on earth. 2) As a young father, I came to know God who became my heavenly Father. He has gently led me to a way which is right. If He will do it for me, He will do it for you.

You don’t believe me. Ask God to give you faith to believe. Begin reading the bible, and ask God to reveal Himself to you in His Word.

He will!

by Wayne Brady 6/19/2019