Daddy is the Ultimate Superhero

I have been so blessed by the men God has placed in my life.  I grew up with a father who loved me very much and he was not afraid to tell me so.  He also made a point of telling me he was proud of me.  I cannot even begin to count the ways that has impacted my life.  I firmly believe that a woman learns how she should expect to be loved by her husband from the way she is loved by her father and by the way she observes her father love her mother.

The longer I am married to TheMostAwesomeHusbandInTheWorld, the more I realize how much he reminds me of my dad...but not in some weird, creepy way!  Many of the things I admire about my dad I find are also are the same qualities I love most about my husband.  They are both hard-working, have a great and sometimes warped sense of humor, and they have both been great daddies to little girls.

It melts my heart in ways he will never understand to see my husband love on our daughters.  They light up when he comes home at the end of the day.  "Daddy's home!"  Daddy is the hero.  Daddy is the protector.  Daddy is the one they turn to when they need to be validated.

Am I beautiful?  Am I smart?  Am I worthy?  Am I cherished?  If they know that Daddy's answer is always, "Yes!", then they won't be fifteen and looking for a boy who will tell them, "Yes."  They won't need to turn to drugs or alcohol in college to numb the pain when they feel like the only answer they have ever heard is, "No."  They don't go through life feeling empty, unloved and unwanted.

I don't have any scientific, psychological studies to back up my conclusions.  I am just a woman who knows what a loving father meant to her growing up.  I am a woman who has been a friend to other women who were not as fortunate and had a long road to walk to find some healing.  If you are on that journey, my prayers are with you and I want you to know that you have a Heavenly Father who is aching to tell you, "You're lovely, worthy, beautiful and cherished by me!"  Let His own words wash over you:

Show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.
-Song of Songs 2:14

I have loved you with an everlasting love.
-Jeremiah 31:3

The King is enthralled by your beauty.
-Psalm 45:11

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
-Zephaniah 3:17

If you were not lucky enough to have been blessed with a loving, earthly father please know that your Heavenly Father is eager to help heal the wounds.  If you have been blessed, as I have, with a true daddy who let you know you were cherished and lovely, please remember to say, "thank you," this Father's Day.  You were given a beautiful gift beyond price and measure.

I love you, Dad.  Always have, always will.