FATHER TO THE FATHERLESS

My Dearest Daughter,

I welcome you to a new way to experience life, seeing me as your Dad and seeing yourself as Daddy’s little girl. I know it may sound foreign or feel uncomfortable, but I have said in my Word that I am a Father to the fatherless and also to those of you who grew up with your fathers and experienced disappointment. Just know I am the perfect Father.

Close your eyes and imagine what the perfect father would look like. Imagine what he would say and how he would feel about you. Then, imagine how you would feel in his presence. Allow me to teach you how to be a daughter to a Father who will never leave you nor forsake you, who will carry you through experiences meant to harm you, a Father who will encourage you and empower you to be everything he has called you to be. A Father so intentional about you that he knew you before he formed you in your mother’s womb and created a guide to help you get through this thing called life while he’s by your side. A Father who will be with you on the many levels of your life, from motherhood to marriage, school, and your career. I won’t be too overbearing. I will allow you to make decisions to mature you, but you have me here to consult. I will always answer the door because I am every door you’re walking through.

Man can sometimes fall short. I realized, when I created Adam and Eve, that men and women will disappoint each other at times, but I am the solution to your every problem. Accept that you have a Father who has always been intentional about you. Welcome to this new beginning that allows you to walk with me and rely on me for your every need, and know that I always show up. I will discipline you in love, but the lessons you learn will be there for you to teach others and to prepare you for the many things I have planned for you on this journey. This year will be a year of you building with intention and of me showing you the miracles, signs, and wonders that follow me.

So grab my hand and allow me to be the perfect gentleman for you. Allow me to teach you. Allow me to be the one who strengthens you. I can’t wait to see how much you grow in the next few months, but also how much is unlocked because you trusted me to heal you and deliver you from disappointment and to show you how I am truly your Father.

Love, Your Dad

Hey, Sis.

Welcome to Love Letters to My Daughters, a book God and I created together as one. It all started back in 2018 after I broke up with this dope guy and tried to build my relationship with the Lord. I never thought that experience would turn into a book to encourage others, but that’s how God works. He turns our mess into something that can bless us and others.

During my journey, I would run to God the Father, but I would ignore Jesus. (Don’t side-eye me. It’s my truth, but we’re good now.) I would run to God the Father, but I had to stop and ask God, “Why am I doing this?” My reason? I’d been let down in a lot in relationships, so avoiding adding someone into the thing I’d already created with the Father felt like protecting myself from being let down by the one who is most blameless and perfect, God.

Because Christ is the son of God, I didn’t think I needed him to be a part of my relationship with God the Father. But the Bible says to get to God you have to go through the Son, aka Christ. My journey began with me running to the Father, but I wasn’t building an intentional relationship with the Son. I didn’t take his sacrifice or bloodshed seriously. To me it was like, “Okay, Jesus, you died on a cross, cool, but move over and let me talk to God the Father.” This was also a result of me not knowing my Word and not realizing Christ had been there in the beginning, creating the world with the Father.

Y’all’s Father had me watch The Passion of the Christ, and when I did, I broke down and asked Jesus to forgive me. Being a visionary and seeing the things Christ went through to complete his task just for me shows me what a perfect dad God is. A perfect dad sacrifices for his children and reminds them he is always with them. He has their back because he knows what life will be like for each of them. I always imagine God on the cross, thinking of all of us, saying each of our names until he died. And when he rose again, it was like a superhero was activated and rose from the dead to be our teacher, our advocate, and our friend. That is who the Holy Spirit is to us.

My journey started in 2019 when I asked God to teach me how to be a daughter to a holy and blameless Father, one who always shows up—even when I don’t see him or feel him, he is working—and that he did! Early on, he had me watch little girls at my church ask their dad for things. I saw how the father would listen and give them what they asked for or listen and say, “Not yet. It’s too early to eat ice cream.” That’s what God does with us. He will tell us yes, no, or not yet.

I learned God is super practical, but he also loves the drama. I mean the drama that happens when he fights for you on his flaming chariot, everything gets shut down, and even demons bow in his presence. So yeah, he loves the drama, but he also loves to be known for the sweetness of his love, which truly surpasses all human understanding.

As you read this book for the year, as your sister in Christ, I want you to first forgive. Forgive your earthly father for the ways he fell short and extend grace to him. Forgive yourself for thinking many of the mistakes and hardships you experienced were your fault. And forgive God. I know this may sound crazy, but hear me out. Some of you have bruises in your heart that you thought were God’s fault. You blamed him, which then allowed you to walk in the spirit of unbelief, believing he only wanted to do things for others and not for you.

I am telling you this from my own experience. I remember wishing I had a father who was there for me. From the time I was born, my earthly father did everything he could to put my mother and me through hell. To this day, he still tries to harm me in ways, and we’ve never even met. I’ll save that story for the next book but know that I’ve lived my life seeking God but not fully receiving him because I didn’t know how to receive a dad.

Let this first week be the week you write a letter to your earthly father, forgiving him. If you can’t do that yet, my sister, it’s okay! Take this week to ask the Lord to fill your heart with his love and adoration for you so you can fully embrace being the daughter to a king and complete this year with an intimacy so strong and inspiring that others will ask you about that God you serve and what’s changed in you.