Father

Father's Day just passed. I think it's often a day of mixed feelings. Fathers here on earth are not always perfect. When you think of it, none of us are ever perfect. We will not be perfect until we reach Heaven.
God gave us earthly fathers to raise us and train us and to set an example for us. That example can be a good example and most fathers try their best from what they know to raise us but the example they set before us isn't always a good one. That's life. There are not always good examples around us and we all make mistakes. As a parent myself, I am well aware of the mistakes I make everyday.

That's why we have God. And that's why He sent Jesus. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to be the perfect example for us. Jesus is the only perfect man who ever lived and He is our prime example of love. Jesus walked on this earth - He knows the tests we go through each day and He sympathizes with us and He knows how often we fail. That's why He chose to die for our sins - He was obedient to the Father and took our place. We don't realize how sinful we are until we accept fully what Jesus did on that cross and believe in Him. God knew we couldn't go through life on our own - He never meant for us to be alone. When Jesus rose after dying on the cross, He ascended into Heaven and a few days later, God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in His believers to guide and direct us. God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit if we let Him.


God holds us through it all - through all of life - He never lets us go. If we are open to His leading and if we believe in His Son, He leads us through life on this earth. He knows what we need to build our integrity, our character and our love. There will be tests and trials on this earth and there will be people, including our parents, who will not always treat us right. There will be times when we ourselves will not always treat others right. But God is there, walking with us and guiding us through. He is loving us unconditionally all the time. God is Love! He is nurturing us, forgiving us when we confess that we've made mistakes and when we've chosen the wrong things, He is holding us when we need comfort, He is disciplining us when we go our own way and we follow our own desires rather than His. He is always there. Our earthly father is not always there and they don't always teach us the right ways, but God, as our Heavenly Father, teaches and guides us. He has given us His Word, the Bible, as our map to follow down life's pathway. He has given us His Spirit to be our conscience. He is watching and waiting for the right time to bring us home after we've gone through what He needs us to go through on this earth.
Thank you God for never leaving my side and for guiding me through this life. Thank you for being my Heavenly Father and for being the perfect example that I can follow. It is my desire Father, to honor you, to worship you with all my heart and to come and live with you forever someday. Help me to be a good example to others and forgive me when I fall short. Thank you for my father who did the best that he knew how to raise me. Thank you for all you've taught me through my upbringing, through the good and the bad. Thank you for softening my heart to be open to You and Your Son. I love you Father. Amen.


(the first picture is one that I personally took but the following 2 pics are ones that were sent to me over email that I thought were very fitting for this) Lisa