June 2013 Dear Friends, This time of year is difficult for me. Right on the heels of what would have been my father’s 87th birthday, comes Father’s Day. That he is absent from my life is more acutely felt during this season, and the realization that I am truly an “orphan” hits once again. I would be hard-pressed to name the things I miss most about my dad. He had an incredibly witty, but dry sense of humor that went right over the heads of many people, and always concluded a visit with, “I’m glad you got to see me.” However, I think what I miss the most is being able to talk life issues through with him. Somehow, the answer always became obvious to me as we talked. His most “famous” piece of advice to anyone was “Don’t get excited.” Didn’t matter if we were experiencing an earthquake or an emotional meltdown, the tongue-in-cheek advice was the same, and we’d roll our eyes at this bit of sage advice. Because I was adopted, people have often asked me about my ‘real” parents. Believe me my dad was “real.” No daughter ever felt more loved or blessed to have such a special dad. I learned much (“You can always find something to laugh about”) from him. It is a profound relief to me to know that although he didn’t have a walk with Christ for most of his life, I have assurance that he chose to repent and receive God’s gift of forgiveness shortly before he died. I look forward to the day I will see him again, and this time our fellowship will be complete around “The Throne.” Until that day, I rest in that fact that God did not leave me (or any of us) without a Father. In fact, I think that it is necessary that I understand how God uses the example of my earthly father (though imperfect) to demonstrate His intended role in my life. Through my earthly dad, I can better understand the kind of father God wants to be to me if I will seek Him as diligently as I did my dad. While reading through the New Testament the past few weeks, I’m intent on “watching” how Jesus interacted with His FATHER. I want to find out what it means to rely on and trust in God to be my FATHER—one on whom I can completely rely and who gives me good reason to know I don’t need to panic. Jesus actively sought to be connected to The Father and determined to honor, trust and glorify Him (“Not my will, but Yours...”) I can learn to do the same. At Pregnancy & Family Resource Center we interact with expectant and new dads everyday. We recognize the reason they often do not bond with their kids is that many have had absent fathers. These young guys have potential, but no idea how to be a dad. As a result of growing up with no father in the home, the concept of a Heavenly Father, whom they cannot see is as remote an idea for them as life on Mars. It is because of four men who have invested the time to complete the advocate training, that we have any hope at all that we will be able to make a positive impact in the lives of our little families. We want families to stay together and become strong influencers for life and the spread of the Gospel in their families and communities. Our vision is that more strong, godly men will come forward, take our advocate training and then work with our young men to demonstrate responsibility and leadership. If you take God’s Word seriously, you understand His model for the family includes the father and/or husband as the head. Excited and interested? Call Wendy at 909-382-4550 to find out more. Mother’s Day gets a lot of emphasis in our culture, and for good reason. Moms give birth and generally take over the bulk of childcare, often a tedious and thankless responsibility. On Mother’s Day, almost everything said or written is very positive. Conversely, Father’s Day is often used as a “teaching” opportunity as in “you should be doing (fill in the blank.” Moms get flowers. Dads get “How to” books. It occurred to me that we’ve never received a donation in honor of someone’s dad, but almost every Mother’s Day (or just because) we have folks send in an extra gift in honor of their moms. I don’t know why, because present, hands-on dads ARE very important to the health and well-being of his family. This month, I will lead the way with an extra gift to Pregnancy & Family Resource Center in honor of my dad who persevered in his commitment to his children when, many times the easiest thing would have been for him to walk away. I’m so thankful he didn’t! What about you? Is there a special dad you’d like to honor? You can do so by sending a check with your dad’s name written in the memo line (Add a note telling me what’s special about him.), or make your gift on line through using the “donate now” button our website (pregnancyfamily.org). As you go through the Egiving process there will be a place to leave a note. I will save all your notes and comments to publish in our next quarterly newsletter. Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy reading about all the special guys we have in our Pregnancy & Family Resource Center family. School’s out and summer is officially here. The weather forecast is clear with triple digits all this week. There’s more free time to do those things we talk about all winter. I’m thrilled to announce I’ve just harvested my first Persian cucumbers and the tomatoes are not far behind! Friends, we’ve got a whole summer ahead of us. Let’s make it a great one! Whether we grow a garden, spend time with kids or enrich our families, we can do all to the glory of God! Sorry Dad, we have to get excited about this. :) For Life! Lisa Joy Stiefken
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:56:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015