A Father to the Fatherless

​I felt deeply impressed to write on Father's Day.  Somehow the day got completely away from me and the thoughts stirring in my spirit never reached my pen.  Now it is almost a week later, and I am still compelled to write about that Hallmark Day, which like Mother's Day carries with it so much expectation and so many hopes unmet.

The Hallmark Card Company invented those days, and it was quite a savvy business move, given the millions they earn from the cards.  I'm sure no one thought about the pain and sadness it would generate for those who never had a child or lost one; or those who lived without a father or a mother.

This year was my first without a living father. All those years I searched for the card that would make Dad smile, or even laugh; and in his last years I looked for the ones that would bless him with my appreciation for who he was. He certainly wasn't a perfect father; we locked horns a lot in my young years, and for some of those years we were even estranged - but the need for a father is so profound in the human spirit that we forgive and overlook much in order to have him near to us.

This year there was no earthly father to send a card to, and no mother to take to lunch.  It caused me, for the first time, to begin relating to the many children of this nation - and across the world - who are growing up without a father.  I heard on the news recently that a startling one out of three children in the United States are in this situation. To be honest, I cannot recall if that statistic referred only to the black community or if it included all races, but it doesn't matter - it is still a tragedy.  The father is the priest of the home, the covering, the protector, the provider.  And so this Father's Day I turned anew to my Heavenly Father, who is ever-present in my heart and my home.  He has not left nor forsaken me; He is my strength and my song!

Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy dwelling.  He sets the lonely in families..

The Spirit led me to this verse many years ago when my precious aunt was alive. She had no living mother or father, nor any children; but God set her in my family.  We would go to her house often on holidays, and I would never let a week go by without a long phone call or letter, keeping her close to my heart and in the lives of my husband and children.  That's how our Heavenly Father is!  He keeps a close watch over us, stays in constant communication with us, and then sets us in spiritual families who can embrace us, mentor us and share the daily joys and trials of life with us.

Even Yeshua, during his earthly ministry, gave us an example of who the family of his heart really was: "While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother and who are my brothers?" Pointing to His disciples He said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50)

I pray that this year and in the years to come all of us who no longer have living earthly fathers and mothers do not get ensnared by the "Hallmark calendar."  In God's calendar you have a Father who loves you with an everlasting love, a family of believers who surround you with loving care, and spiritual children whom you have birthed by your teaching, your hugs and your time.

Even right in the midst of Jeremiah's fierce prophecy against the Ammonites, our Loving and Faithful God says, "Leave your orphans, I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in Me."

Let us put our trust in our Eternal Father; He has no orphans and He has no grandchildren!  We are each His child.

Note to all my readers in this family: I cannot express enough my enthusiasm and gratitude for the awesome and profound teaching I am receiving (and sharing with my Door of Hope Community) through the internet ministry Seeking Truth in Torah.  Yoseph and his wife, Aliyah (from South Africa) are on fire in the Holy Spirit with messages straight from the heart of God for this time.  I urge you to visit their website at www.seekingtruthintorah.com and open some of their videos.  It will change your life and move you on in your journey to become the Bride and the worshiper the Father seeks.  You can subscribe to their channel on Youtube and receive these videos in your email.  Be richly blessed!