A Father's Day Encouragement

All week long I thought Father’s Day wouldn’t ‘bother’ me because I’m rarely up in PA to celebrate this occasion. However, yesterday that feeling of loss started to come over me and this morning it hit me full force. No card to send. No phone call to make. I felt that pit in my stomach as I woke up feeling obligated to face this day.

Instead of today being a day to celebrate, it was a reminder of how much I am missing having my father in my life and in the life of my children.  Thankfully the older ones have solidified memories of time spent with Grandpop but oh how my heart aches for this little one who had just one short year with him.

And boy did he love this little girl.

It had been awhile since he had to play "Hop on Pop" with his own children and even with the grandchildren, as the youngest before Nadia is now 6.  He was still willing to give Nadia "all of Grandpop" like the others got.

Yes, this little one got a glimpse into what it was like to have a Grandpop even if just for a short while.

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  God knew this was going to be a difficult day for me and my sisters, so just as God would have it, my devotion for today, from the book Jesus Lives  by Sarah Young was a huge encouragement to me.  It made me think about others who are having a difficult time today. Perhaps your father has also passed away suddenly or after a long illness.  Perhaps he is still alive but no longer a part of your life.  God will meet you where your pain is and so I hope that the following devotional will minister to you the way it has to me and my sisters today. 

THE FUTURE
I can fit everything into My majestic plan for good, including the things you wish were different. How you long to see that all-embracing pattern, even though you can’t begin to imagine it—and wouldn’t understand it even if I showed you.

Your current situation feels like a gigantic mistake to you—something you should have been able to prevent. I urge you not to indulge in obsessing about what you could have done differently, for that is an exercise in unreality: The past cannot be different from what has actually occurred. I want to help you make a new beginning instead, starting right where you are.

NOW is the only place to begin anew: It’s the unique intersection of time and space you currently inhabit, and it’s the space-time location where I intend for you to live. Some things—many things—may be beyond you, but you are capable of living joyfully in the present. After all, you are communicating with Me, your Savior and Lord, this very moment. You can also handle the next moment as it comes—and the next.

What you find most difficult to accept is the way the future looks to you: basing your predictions on current circumstances. But the future is one of those secret things beyond your domain. Release it to Me, the rightful Owner. Refuse to worry about the future, and you will find your resources for today quite sufficient. Remember that I am part of those resources, and nothing is impossible with Me!"

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28 AMP

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37


My sister took this picture at Nadia's Dedication last October.  I always thought it looked like a picture of my parents looking heavenward.  .

I know my Dad has a different view right now but for those of us here on earth it is still a difficult day.