This weekend is Father’s Day. For some it is a great day to celebrate the dad we love, the Father who gave us great memories, took us on wonderful vacations, coached our Little League ball teams, and taught us a strong work ethic.
For others, this is a day filled with dread. Maybe this is the first holiday without your father, as a couple of my girlfriends are experiencing. My heart breaks for them. Or you may be having to face a father and act happy to see him when he gave you zero good memories of your childhood. Then there is another who may have never known a father, and have no recollection of what growing up with a father is like. It’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of this day. Especially when you see pictures being posted all over social media of families intact and having fun and you are not.
Whatever your thoughts are about this day, I want to encourage you to take a moment and allow your mind to think differently. Sure, things may not have gone as you desired in the past. The only time we have disappointment is when we have expectations that were not met. You can start today to reframe those expectations. When we hang on to these expectations is when we spend our lives drowning in the sorrow, regret, “why” questions, and pity. Accept that your hopes were not met, and allow yourself to move on from that spot. Staying there, may stagnate your life.
Take yourself, your hurts from childhood, your blame you may hoist on to your father for the past…take it all and point it toward the One true Father that is watching over you and has been your whole life. No, you may never get an explanation why things happened the way they did. Be okay with it and get to the business of living. Decide today that you will free yourself from that hamster wheel of emotions. No one else can make this decision for you.
You have a father who is above all, leading and guiding you with precision if you let Him. Isn’t it time we recognize HIM as the Father He is? Release the memories, the bitterness, and the unforgiveness. It’s not about who gets the credit or blame for your upbringing, but who deserves the supreme recognition as being the greatest Father there is. Let’s start celebrating HIM and get our name out of the equation.