Many people know my story, but I feel that now is a great time to share with those who may not know the grace that God has upon my relationship with my father. This is the extreme condensed version, but in its condensed form is still an amazing work that God did. When I was about 11 years old, my dad left us. Technically he was in my life, but he was no longer with my mom or living at home and in my mind, he left me. Over the years I grew to resent him. Eventually our relationship consisted of screaming matches on the phone and rarely ever seeing him. We went through a period of time when we didn't really talk at all and it was during that time that God began to change things. I didn't grow up as a Christian and I had no idea that churches existed beyond the Catholic church. When I was 15 my friend invited me to a youth night with her where there were teenagers praying for teenagers. I felt something different there and I felt like what they were teaching was true. It made sense to me. I continued going to church and eventually went to camp with the youth group that summer. During that camp I really gave my life to Christ and I remember walking out of the service that night saying "If only my dad knew about this Jesus, our relationship would be better. I would have my dad back" I remember praying for him and asking others to pray for him to. About a year later I was talking to my dad online via instant message and he said to me "Samantha, I need to tell you something, today I stood up in front of people for the first time and accepted Jesus" I remembered sitting at my computer crying. I remembered thinking to myself "whoa this prayer thing actually works" It was one of the best days of my life. I later learned that the day he told me that was not actually the day he gave his life to Jesus, but the day he got the courage to stand up in a crowd and tell people. When we actually talked back to the time he gave his life to Christ, it was around the same time I did. I was praying for him and I had no idea that God had already answered me. My relationship with my dad started to grow. I eventually moved in with him and although we had our ups and downs, I am always amazed at how God restored our relationship and I am always amazed at the man that God made my father into. My father is a completely different man today that the one I knew growing up. He is a man after God's own heart, who seeks to please Him and live his life according to the Word of God. He is a constant encouragement to me and I am more proud of him than ever. His faith is such an example and I thank God because he gave me a new dad. I was once fatherless but now I have a man of God for a father and he is evidence of God's grace in my life.
2 comments:
That is wonderful sam! Treasure that relationship so much! My father wanted nothing to do with me ever, and when he was dying, my grandma begged me not to fly home and see him. He still wanted nothing to do with me, and never even mentioned my name apart from saying he didn't want me there. I always dreamed growing up, "well, maybe on his deathbed he will want to see me and we can make up." that never happened. Treasure every time you can speak to your father and talk to him, even when fighting or when the ups turn to downs. Even having a father to have ups and downs with is such a gift of God.
Seeing God as my "father" is still to this day the hardest thing for me to relate to. My father left me. My father disowned me. Is God like that? will he leave me? becides slaying his son for my sins, and regenerating me, healing me from this pain has been the greatest miracle in my life.
This is so beautiful Samantha! I am so glad that God was there to work everything out, and that your relationship with your father has healed.
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