“I don’t want to be like my dad”

Yesterday was father’s day and for some people it was a day filled with joy as they celebrated their fathers and remembered the many ways they had influenced and blessed their lives.

For me personally, I was blessed with an incredible dad who taught me more than just how to ride my bike but how to live life and serve God.

He inspires me daily through the way he sacrifices his time to serve his family and church in any way that he can.

If he’s not building or fixing something around the house then he’s busy visiting sick people from church not because it’s part of his elder duties but because it’s always been a part of his servant heart.

He is a perfect example of what a man of integrity, a man of character, and a man of God is.

God has blessed me with not just a perfect Father in Heaven (Him) but also an amazing one here on earth which I will be forever grateful for.

But for many people that is not the case.

Father’s day is a sad or bitter day of reflecting on a dad that was absent from their life, a dad that was no hero in their eyes growing up, a dad that may have left them feeling neglected and un-loved.

A dad that never taught them how to catch a fish, ride a bike, or live life.

A dad that never gave them a kiss or said “I love you” before tucking them in bed at night.

A dad that never showed them what it meant to live for Christ.

And they grow up with only one hope, and dream, and prayer in mind – “God, please help me never become like my dad.”

They live in a constant fear of one day waking up and realizing that they are repeating history.

That when they look in the mirror they are reflecting all of those traits they have been running from all their life.

That just like the saying goes “the apple doesn’t fall from the tree” , they will realize that they didn’t fall far from theirs.

This can be true for both mother’s and father’s.

Each one plays a significant role in influencing us and shaping us for the rest of our lives and if they were not the wise and loving parents and example that they should have been we spend our lives trying to make sure we become anything but them.

We carry baggage, insecurities, and resentment with us wherever we go and blame them for our shortcomings, our issues, and our shame.

And we forget that we have another father who loves us.

A father that will teach us how to live a righteous life.

A father that will take all of our insecurities, issues, and shame away.

Yes, we are born with our parent’s DNA.

We look like them, we can act like them , and we have personality traits like them, but we don’t have to BE them.

Because when you become a Christian you are born again.

This means that even though your physical DNA does not change, your spiritual DNA does.

You are no longer just the daughter or son of an earthly father, you are now a daughter or son of a heavenly father and this is the father who you now reflect.

He is the Father whose footsteps you will walk in.

Not your earthly father’s.

Or your earthly mother’s.

You don’t have to live a life of fear of becoming someone you never want to be because God put a new nature in you: His.

And it doesn’t matter what kind of family you come from, how you were raised, or what kind of background you have, once He adopts you into His family you are no longer constrained to repeat the mistakes of your mother and father.

You are no longer enslaved to a generational curse or sin that you fear.

You won’t spend your life worrying about becoming like your parents because all you will care about is becoming more like Him.

You will leave your baggage of hurt, of bitterness, of shame at the foot of the cross and walk freely with Him.

You will allow Him to help you heal from any unresolved issues from the past and walk with hope and joy into the future knowing that He’ll help you become all you want to be.

Today, no matter what your earthly father is like, whether he is still the hero of your childhood memories or someone you can’t think about without feeling pain remember that you have a Father that loves you beyond anything that you can imagine and He is there to hold your hand and to lead you on a new path with Him.

He has adopted you into His own family.

Don’t be scared of repeating the past and becoming someone you don’t ever want to be.

You have His DNA now.

Live your life to reflect Him.

Be blessed and never forget whose child you are!-Anna…♥

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”  –1 John 3:1