Dad To The Dadless

Dad To Those Who Have No Dad

"… Father to the fatherless…"

     One of the most difficult things to observe over the years has been to observe the impact of someone who -- for all intents and purposes--is fatherless: Some are fatherless because their Daddy simply died.  Some are fatherless, while dad is living, because he simply is not available. It maybe  because he has too much pain of his own to have time to help this child live a full life. It may be that he is addicted to drugs or alcohol, and these chemicals have become his closest friends. It may be that he's geographically separated from her children, and he simply did not take the time to parent them. It could be that he had an affair or he simply was a victim of his own upbringing, and so he abandoned his children.

     Whatever the case may be, it is clear that huge numbers of children, in the last generation grew up, without their biological Dad in the home. This left the children, or the child, more vulnerable to be hurt in some way. At the very least, they did not have a healthy role model for relationships. Boys did not have a healthy role model for guiding them in how to treat women respectfully and lovingly. Girls did not know how a man should treat a woman in a healthy way. Plus, whether the child or children are or were boys and girls they felt abandoned and alone. Trust became difficult for them, and in the teenage years they suffer tremendously, and may even still do so as adults.

 

     The miracles I observed ,when relating to such precious people as these, and it was somewhat of a surprise, is that full grown men and women looked at me as if I were their Dad. Not always, but sometimes this did occur. For me, this was a blessing.  I say this because I received their trust, and I was therefore,  able to provide them a way to talk about whatever they wanted to talk. I tried to provide them an atmosphere where they would feel loved and free to discuss anything. This would allow us to journey together for a time, and help them discover the one who is "the Father to the fatherless." Jesus would become alive to them, not just religious figure. He would "light up their lives," through his love mercy and grace. Through him they would discover, in time, the Heavenly Father.

   Leaving them was one of the hardest things I had to do because of  my fear that they may interpret my departure as another abandonment.  Yet to prevent this from happening, I tried earnestly to get them into some kind of fellowship group where they could be mentored by other people who would guide them and love them. I do try to stay in touch, but I really do not know how they are doing because I cannot see their faces. This I do know: There's not a day that goes by where I fail to commit them to their Heavenly Father. There's not a day that goes by where I fail to lift them up in prayer. There is a lot I do not know about their tomorrow's, but I do know who holds their hands in the tomorrow's that he grants them. I also know that he will never leave them nor forsake them.

Sojourner