On a recent
vacation with my daughter, I was visiting my niece in Ocala, Florida and got to
spend some time with her 11-year-old daughter Katie. In short, Katie’s dad has
never really been a factor in her life and when he is, he rarely ever leaves
her better off. He makes promises he doesn’t keep, is thousands of dollars in
the hole with child support, and to my knowledge has never made any sort of
fatherly or eternal investments in his daughter.
Katie is a
beautiful girl and full of energy, and I can tell she has an unquenched desire
to explore all this world has to offer her. Still, her underlying “daddy gap”
is apparent for anyone who slows down enough to really look and listen to her. I
also gathered from a conversation with my niece that Katie has been bullied some
at school, and my heart and mind immediately went into red-flag, protective
mode. (Adolescent girl with father issues and being bullied is a dangerous mix)
As I talked with her mom, the scripture above was laid on my heart to share
with Katie.
A few hours
later, as she and my daughter went upstairs to play, I felt the Lord say to me,
Go, now. I followed them upstairs and
as they sat down, I asked Katie if I could talk with her briefly. The look of wonder
that filled her eyes was even surprising to me. It was as if she couldn’t wait
to hear what I had to say.
I spoke
those words from Song of Solomon over her and then said the following: “I know
you’ve had some issues with your dad recently…” IMMEDIATELY when I brought him
up tears began to roll down her little face, and I knew this was more important
than I had previously thought. I brought up the issues at school and explained
to her that although she may be going through some really tough times right
now, that God sees her as perfect and complete…worthy enough to trade His Son’s
life for. I also told her that although her earthly dad has fallen short, that
she truly IS a princess because her real Father is the King of kings. Of course
by this point she was completely sobbing, which naturally made me lose it too.
I prayed
with Katie and gave her a hug, then let the girls enjoy the rest of their
night. As I came back downstairs to let her mom know I would follow up with her
and extend an open invitation for her to visit us, I couldn’t help but reflect
on what this one encouragement could have meant to her. My hope was that she
would hang on to this for the rest of her life.
I know many
of us as single parents are pretty consumed dealing with our own hurt, and we
all have a million things on our mind. But still, is there someone you can
think of right now who needs to hear a word from God? Has He laid an impression
on you to open your heart and spiritual eyes and invest in someone’s life? Is
there another “Katie” you know─perhaps a relative, neighbor, or one of your
kid’s classmates—who needs to hear that she is beautiful and loved by God?
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