My Loss is My Gain

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%201,2,15,22,23,24,47,68&version=NIV

More and more I see the way the truth of God’s word is played out in my life. That should be no surprise, as his word is both alive and active. Today I read and was reminded of one such example. Psalm 68:5 says that God is “a father to the fatherless”. I can say from personal experience that he is, because he has been to me.

First, I have to have to say that God gave me the most AMAZING father. My daddy was a model of biblical manhood. Of course I know he wasn’t perfect, but he scores 100% in the areas that count. He was, without question, a spiritual leader in our home. He was a man who honored and protected his wife. He was a father who put his family first. I can’t think of time when he disappointed me or wasn’t there when I wished he was. He controlled both his temper and his tongue. He was a man of integrity, a man who was respected in the community, and a man of compassion and love. He tucked us in to bed at night, prayed with us, and read the whole series of the ‘Little House on the Prairie’ books to us as bedtime stories. He taught me, encouraged me, and challenged me. He was my teddy bear and the man who taught me about Jesus. He fought a battle against cancer with courage and faith and won his reward in Heaven. When I was age 18, this incredible man became part of God’s heavenly kingdom.

My loss was certainly my father’s gain. But today I realize that my loss was also my gain. It was my gain because I have experienced what it means when the word of God says that God is a father to the fatherless. He gave me a brother – Rich – who was not born as my brother but has become that in every way. He is an advice giver, challenges my point of view, and receives my tears with grace and compassion. It was my brother Rich who at a time recently when I was sharing some tears and sadness with him reminded me, “Carol, God is a father to the fatherless, and he’s done that very well in your life.” And he has – by providing me with this brother and countless others that fill a father’s roll – like my friend Trace who drives to my house to look at cracks in the drywall and goes to the car dealership with me to help me buy my new car. Or my friend Jon who I can call when I have car trouble and who replaced my garbage disposal.

God was a father to the fatherless by giving me an amazing mother with whom I get to celebrate this Mother’s Day weekend. She is a woman of strength, a woman who overcomes, a woman who has filled both the father and mother roll for the last 17 years of my life.

I am certainly there are numerous other ways God has been both an earthly and heavenly father to me. I’ll end by sharing my favorite ways. God has so graciously kept me close to his side and filled me with his love that I have not looked for love in places I shouldn’t. It is by the grace of God that I have not filled my life with bad choices or wrong people, seeking to be filled some way. God has filled me, embraced me, carried me, provided for me, chosen me and loved me. He IS a father to the fatherless.

Will you share how scripture has come alive in your life? Would love to hear about it!

Today's post was submitted by Carol Bartels