Father's Day

"Honor thy father. . . ." [ from the Ten Commandments]

The third Sunday in June is Father's Day. It is a day that has been celebrated in some way since the early part of the 20th Century. It began in America but is now celebrated almost all over the world.

It is a day to celebrate our relationship with our father, the love and affection and good example that he always imparted.   Honoring one's father comes so naturally to some.

Others of us have grown up with a decidedly more complex and difficult relationship with our fathers.

Maybe your father was emotionally distant? Maybe he was even verbally abusive? Maybe he was always absent, either working too many hours or preferring to be off with his buddies rather than being home with his family?

I truly loved my father, but he was deeply flawed. How to honor such a father? I have to say that in the past few years, I have announced that I hate Father's Day. Sometimes, I see a father out and about with his tiny daughter, maybe at the park, maybe at the airport. They snuggle and hug and giggle together. This is something I never had. I feel a surge of envy. A pang of loss at the pure fatherly affection that I never encountered in my young life.

But then, as I watch the scene, a joy comes over me! No, I never felt such safety and security in  my father's arms. But to watch another father's pure love unfold is exactly what is RIGHT about the world! It is an antidote, a redemption over all the abuse and hatred and anger in the world.

Some adults with my experiences are so closed and angry that they shut out all father figures in their life, even God! I never could shut out God. First of all, He has had a way of insinuating Himself into my life, with such patience, sometimes with such insistence, that I cannot turn away.  God knows, sometimes better than I do, that more than anyone, I need His pure and unconditional Love.

In my situation, I needed more unconditional love, even if it came only from God at first. I could not afford to let anger, pain, hatred or bitterness get in the way. Those attributes are the pathway to despair, a kind of living death.

And so, God has sent other father figures to me, in human form. Doctors who have helped me with not just my physical health but my overall well-being. My pastors who have guided me through rough waters. Gentle men I have met along the way who have imparted their lifetime of wisdom. And especially my dear father-in-law, the father I never had.

Lord,  I pray that in seeking You, I discern Your endless and unconditional Love as my one true Father!

(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2011. All Rights Reserved.