Today, my Facebook feed is inundated with a whole slew of posts celebrating dads. In a way, it is so inspiring to me to see how deeply the love between a child and his/her father can run throughout an entire lifetime, and some of your pictures have made me cry. There, I said it. My sappy side is coming out again. It is so clear to see the joy some of you have with your dads, and how much you treasure memories of a childhood grounded in adoring love, life lessons, a sense of commitment, and physical and emotional presence. As I get older, it's also amazing to see how many friends of mine are now dads themselves. Great dads out there, you have reminded me that there are amazing, loving, compassionate fathers who see that parenting role as a core part of their identity. I thank you for that, truly.
Today, I won't be posting pictures or writing a commemorative speech honoring my earthly dad because Father's Day has been a bittersweet holiday for as long as I can remember. This is not a place where I'll air my "dirty laundry" so that's all I will say about that. But today, despite the heaviness in my heart, I am celebrating. I am celebrating every one of you amazing men out there who are protective and self-sacrificing, those of you who are loving and patient, and those of you who are intentional about your fathering. I am celebrating a heavenly Father who loves me even beyond what I can imagine. A client said something to me this week, and her words have been bouncing around in my brain all weekend: "See yourself as God sees you, not like you think about yourself or what others say about you. Live your life like you believe what your Father sees in you." Because I know I have a Father who loves me in such an overpowering and overwhelming way, I choose to see myself as both lion-hearted and tender-hearted. Those are the best parts of me. I am not broken, and even though I have been bruised, I believe in love. I believe in joy, and I believe in goodness. I believe in a world where there are men who uphold their commitments and admit their imperfections. I believe in honoring those men and a heavenly Father who loves me in all my complexity and faults.
Today, I am sending up a prayer in communion with those of you who, like me, need reminders every once in a while that there is a good, loving, merciful Father out there, and there are men here on this earth doing His work, too. Peace be with you, friends.
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