The Importance of a Loving Father

Aside from a brief period in junior high, I never questioned my parents' love for me. And even then, I just had a hard time grasping that my dad loved me for me, and not for what I did (difference in love languages). Little did I know, or even realize until recently, what a profound impact that understanding of love would have on my relationship with the Lord.

At Women's Retreat in November I kept hearing ladies comment on how hard it was for them to accept that God truly loved them. I honestly wondered if there was something wrong with me. I can't think of a time when I've had a hard time accepting God's love. I know He created me in His image, He has a plan for me, and even better than that--He loves me with an everlasting love! I might even err at times on the side of forgetting that I am a sinner because I know how much God loves me. I shared my awkward feelings over easily accepting God's love with a friend of mine and she felt the same way. We finally came to the conclusion that because we felt unconditional love from our earthly fathers, acceptance of love from our Heavenly Father came easily.

Sadly, at one session of the retreat, the speaker asked for all the women who grew up with a loving father to raise their hands. Less than half of the women were able to make such a claim. This retreat was in November, and I still haven't been able to shake that reality. A loving father makes such a difference in a child's understanding of God's love.

I know that I am a daughter of the King because my dad not only called me "Princess," he treated me like one too. I know that God has created me in His image and His design for me is perfect because I grew up being told that I was beautiful. I know that I need have my heart reflect my outside because I was always challenged to be pretty on the inside. And I know that despite a difficult time or phase in my life, God still loves me because after receiving discipline I was told, "I love you."

If only all fathers could understand the importance of loving their daughters. Cherish your little girls. Show her how a gentleman would treat her. Tell her she's beautiful. Your words and your actions will help shape her understanding of her Heavenly Father. Your words and your actions will help grow her up into a woman of God.