One summer Sunday, our pastor preached on the characteristics of godly parents. God used this sermon to touch nerves deep in my heart that had long ago been covered with the scar tissue of a painful relationship with my own dad. That day the Lord put His finger on a festering wound I thought had healed, if not perfectly, really quite well. On this particular Sunday morning, God set me on the road to healing in a way I could never have anticipated. God used this study to begin to show me how deep my pain, anger, and bitterness really went. It was an extremely painful process, and a number of times it would have been far easier to bury the pain again and get on with life as best I could. However, that would not result in the abundant life our Lord desires for each of His children, and I chose to trust that He would carry me through the pain with the result that He would bring true healing to my heart. My God truly was faithful to do just that. I have been able to forgive my dad, and though it is still often a conscious choice of will rather than an emotional feeling, it has been amazing to watch God change my attitude towards the father He gave me here on earth. The Lord has shown me the hypocrisy of my own heart in relationship to my dad and has Himself stepped in to be the Father I have missed in the past. As I've learned to forgive the inadequacies of my earthly father, my Papa in heaven has stepped in to be more than adequate, to be fully sufficient to enable me to love my dad, even when it hurts. Even when the world around me says I don't have to. I still don't have unselfish love for those who have hurt me down pat by any stretch of the imagination, but God has begun a very good work in me, and "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ." (Phil. 1:6) But as I have allowed God to work healing and forgiveness in my life, the most beautiful relationship has begun to develop. When we allow God to touch our deepest hurts, the ones buried so deep we think they'll never resurface, the ones we will hardly admit to ourselves let alone anyone else, an amazing intimacy begins to develop that carries on beyond the healing to a love relationship that can't be rivaled by any man on earth, father or husband!
