As for Me and My HouseVoorbeeld

Fatherless

For the second time in my short life, I was fatherless. 

As the reality of my situation began to take hold, I felt a wave of anger crash over me. How could I have let myself be so stupid? Why did I think this time would be different?

When my first father walked out, I was just a preschooler, barely able to comprehend what was happening. This time, I was older. I should have known better. Yet after taking many hard and painful steps to open up my heart and embrace a new dad, this one was leaving too.

Why wasn’t I wanted? 

The neighborhood I grew up in was filled with others like me. In the vacuum left by absentee fathers, many of my peers turned to sex, drugs, and gang memberships to find acceptance. These poor parental substitutes only increased the chances they would one day repeat the cycle themselves by fathering children out of wedlock.

Sitting in my sorrow, I wondered if my path in life had been set for me and if there was even a point in trying to break free.

Thankfully, in one of my darkest moments, an aunt directed my attention to Psalm 68:5-6 and Hebrews 13:5. Through those passages, I learned God was the Father to the fatherless. 

Not only did God offer to adopt me into His family, but He sacrificed His own Son to make it possible. My world was falling apart around me, yet in that moment I felt security I had never known. My heavenly Father would NEVER leave me. I was wanted. Suddenly, my future didn’t look so dim.

If your earthly father has failed you, take heart. God is a perfect Father, always available to give guidance, support, and when necessary, discipline that is loving and gentle. He stands ready to adopt you into His family if you are willing. 

I accepted God’s offer of adoption that night in my aunt’s living room. The Bible, which had once been an old and confusing book to me, suddenly became a collection of love letters from a Father to His Son. I couldn’t stop reading them. Through His Word, God began to show me a way to break free from my past and start a new legacy.

The good news is that His offer still stands. Have you accepted it? If not, what is holding you back?

If you are struggling to forgive your earthly father read, “Deserted by His Dad” on FamilyLife.com.