The Merry Widow

A Father to the Fatherless

Sunday, June 20th, 2010, by admin

I made a bad mistake today. I took my kids to church on Father’s Day, against all good judgment. It was one of the first times they haven’t complained about going in a long time, but we’ll never do that again on Father’s Day until they reach the age of majority, or at least until we grow sand paper over our hearts that can take the abrasion. Now I like our pastor. He’s a very humorous guy from California whom I respect but I hope he chooses another focus for the next Father’s Day service he delivers.He had a few men come up to the front to talk about their memories of their father, uplifting memories. Well, that was the end of it for me. Tears started welling up and before I knew it I was shaking hard trying not to let out any noise. And then finally we were done and my son suggested we leave before the end of the service, you know, the doxology is the last step for some services and then everyone leaves. My children were stoic. I was a mess.

So in my critical reflection I can only say that if he is going to have a Father’s Day service, then perhaps he should preach about that verse in the Bible, Psalm 68:5 which is about how God is a father to the fatherless and a defender of the widows. My children could have used that today much more than sitting there vulnerably hearing men regale stories of their fathers. No, the service is not about my family, but everyone who has a good father in their lives knows it already and don’t need reminding. It’s the ones that don’t have a present father that need something more helpful.

In looking up the reference for the verse tonight, I came upon a blog site I hadn’t seen before, which is by a guy who had an absent dad most of his growing up years, and it appears to be worth reading more of. It is called A Father to the Fatherless, but the url at the top is http://www.paulrsmith.net

And yes, I did call my father tonight and wished him a Happy Father’s Day.

father's day, fatherless, Psalm 68, widows, Grief, mourning period
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