As we saw the past few weeks, there is a special relationship that girls share with their mothers. The bond formed between mother and daughter lasts a lifetime and often serves as the guide for how to grow into a godly woman.
As important as that relationship is, though, there is another foundational relationship that plays a major role in the shaping of a girl's life and continues on through womanhood.
That relationship is the one held between a father and his daughter, and it is essential to the development of any girl's future.
Does that mean that if a girl has an absent or abusive father that she will turn out "damaged" for life? No, of course not! Because our real father is our Father in heaven, who loves us and cares for us no matter what.
Yet God, in His infinite wisdom, gave to parents the ultimate responsibility for raising His children. Believe me, as a parent, this is a task we do not take lightly. Young people rarely have a true understanding for the incredible weight parents carry every single day in the care of their children.
For some, though, this responsibility proves to be too much. In the case of fathers, too often they leave the parenting up to the mother. This is a tragedy, because the truth is that when a girl feels the unconditional love of her father, she has a grounding that cannot be replaced by any other human relationship -- including that of a husband.
That is why so many girls go running to a boyfriend to "save them" from their father -- or lack of a father-figure. But no human relationship can mimic what a father provides. God ultimately wants us to turn to Him to meet that need, but He first gives us a human father to show us what that relationship looks like.
Consider yourself fortunate, then, if your earthly father is the kind of father that you know in your heart loves you. He may have funny ways of showing it, but whatever his method, you will know in your heart how much he cares for you and watches out for and protects you.
It has been said before -- and I have to agree -- that the way a child sees their earthly father will become reflected in the way they view their heavenly father. This is especially true for girls.
If the scars run deep, they might prove difficult to heal and will take time and love from God. But if the love of the father goes deep, that daughter will likely have an easier time seeing and accepting the love God has for them.
Again, there is no "right formula" to follow here. One girl may have an excellent father and not appreciate it and never seek the deeper love of her Father in heaven, while another girl may grow up without a father -- or worse, with an abusive one -- and yet still seek and find the unconditional love offered her by God.
Similarly, there is no "right formula" for how to be a father. Yours may act different than you, think differently that you do, and express his feelings in different ways from you. Your father may not look like you, share your interests, or even be related by blood.
But if he loves you with all his heart, soul, and mind -- as is often the case -- nothing else will matter, and you will find yourself blessed to be loved like that and will be well on your way to understanding and accepting how much more your Father in heaven loves you.
Blessings,
Jody
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