Not too long ago, a familiar little girl greeted me in the hall…one I kind of know, but honestly, am still trying to figure out. This day though, she specifically sought me out and captured my heart as I knelt down, when the sweet hug with which she typically greets me was accentuated by a radiant grin from ear to ear. The almost tangible glow of her facial expression made me very curious and excited to see what was going on in her precious little heart. With wisps of loose hair bobbing around her face, saucer-like eyes and a smile barely contained by the corners of her lips, she answered the question before I could even ask. She triumphantly told me that in a few days, she was going to meet her Daddy for the first time!!
Wait…what?
I repeated what I thought she said and yes, she confirmed her upcoming trip to finally meet her Daddy with the same enthusiasm as before. Honestly, I was expecting random details of some weekend play date or her adventures in elementary school that day, but instead, her emotional focus and anticipation was on something so much deeper. In that moment, my excitement at her body language and what I thought she would tell me immediately changed to a broken heart as I looked into her beautiful, expectant eyes and considered the fact she had lived her young life to that point without having a daddy to begin with. I couldn’t say a whole lot because my heart was wrestling with how I was feeling while there with her.
What was so exciting to her was painful for me to even consider…that her father, for whatever reason, was not an anchor in this young girl’s life. Not only that, but what if this reunion didn’t go as she had planned? That would be so much more devastating to this little one who just wants what ever other little kid wants…to be with her daddy.
We shared a brief conversation where I did my best to mirror her excitement, but that gnawing in my heart stayed with me even as she hugged me around the neck one more time and happily bounced away. I remained there on my knees and uttered a prayer over her until she disappeared into the girl’s bathroom at the other end of the hall.
I’m not naïve enough to think this girl’s story is isolated (unfortunately quite the contrary), but it reminded me just how important fathers are to their children even when things like divorce, abandonment or death drive what seems to be an insurmountable wedge between them. The love of a child doesn’t stop just because the relationship does. This child was willing to wait with great expectation for a man she has no memory of in hopes of becoming her Daddy’s little girl.
Fathers, I can’t highlight…I can’t overemphasize how valuable you are or could be in the lives of your sons and daughters. Consider the story of this young girl as you give thought to the relationship you have with your own children. If you’re estranged from them in any way, may this story show you a glimpse of how they probably feel and deep down what they long for…you. What are you going to do about it?
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Photograph by: Designecologist via Unsplash.com
