My life has been filled with missed goals, broken dreams, and more failure than one person should ever experience. Most of the time the only thing that kept me from achieving what was set before me was “me” and my poor choices. Yet, through every failure, every disappointment, and every season when I wondered if I had missed what God had planned for me, He continued to remind me that my story was not over. Sometimes God uses the broken pieces of our lives to show us that His grace is still working, even when we cannot yet see what He is building. I have learned that our failures do not have to become the definition of who we are, because God can use even our hardest chapters to lead us toward a purpose greater than ourselves.
A few years back, I had the blessing of helping my youngest daughter who was in the Navy move from Virginia to Washington state. It is not like she really needed my help because she has always been completely self-reliant, but still I was invited along for the ride and I was not going to miss this opportunity. It is still some of my most precious and treasured memories I can remember. Getting older, most of my memories have faded away. We traveled to places that I will probably never see again in my lifetime, Niagara Falls, the home that I left in Ohio when I was 10, Cedar Point amazement park, Noah’s Ark exhibit, and even stopped by the Alamo for a quick selfie.
To be with her and experience these things was amazing, but seeing her lifestyle, a place where she thrives, flourishes, and has peace was even more impactful. To see her as a woman with purpose, focus, and direction was a great blessing. Over the years, I have seen her struggle, suffer, but more recently, overcome her trials and hardships, and flourish in a way that blesses others. She was not only setting her goals, she was achieving them as well and still is. She was working on fulfilling her dreams as she knew them to be at the time and I didn’t think I could be more proud of her. Watching her become the woman she was created to be reminded me that sometimes the greatest victories are not the ones we see from the outside, but the ones that happen quietly within a person’s heart. I saw strength in her that had been forged through hardship, and I saw a peace that could only come from learning to trust God through the journey. As her father, there was something incredibly humbling about watching the little girl I once carried in my arms become a woman who could stand firmly on her own and still know when to reach for God.
I came to know Jesus when she was three years old. From the first moments of knowing and understanding the power of God, I have not ceased to pray for the children that God has entrusted to me, and now with having eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild, I pray for them with the same intensity as well. The scripture that I have focused on in regard to my children is written in Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it. My prayer, my plea before my God, is for her to be happier, healthier, and live a fulfilling life that is beyond anything she could have ever thought or imagined to the glory of God.
I like the saying, “A warrior is that woman who gets up despite the enemy trying to destroy her. A woman who declares victory before even seeing it. A woman who will receive her miracle because she knows the Lord she serves is alive and by her side.” Since our trip together, she married and immediately became a mother to two amazing little boys, and also has a three year old boy, and a one year old baby girl.
And now, as I look at her beautiful family, I pray that they know they are not walking this life alone. I pray regularly that every child, every mother, every father, and every person who has struggled to find their way can know that there is still hope, still purpose, and still a God who has not abandoned them. None of us have walked this journey perfectly, but every one of us is worthy of being loved, encouraged, prayed for, and reminded that our story is still being written, we need to stop trying to steal the pen from God’s fingers. I have to trust God with a story I desperately want to control.
Even though this is mostly about my youngest and my time with her, my prayer is that both of my daughters realize how I see them, as Warriors, as Victors, as my Heroes. I have watched them face things I could not fix for them, endured moments when all I could do was pray, and learned that sometimes a father’s greatest act of love is to stand back, trust God, and keep believing. My heart aches for them when they hurt, rejoices when they overcome, and burns with gratitude every time I see them become more of the women God created them to be.
I know that I did not get everything right as a father, and I certainly have not gotten everything right in my own life, but my love for my daughters has never been measured by my perfection. It is a love that prays when there are no answers, hopes when circumstances look impossible, and believes when the road ahead is still hidden. If there is one thing I want both of my daughters, their children, and everyone who reads this to know, it is this: you are seen, you are loved, you are never forgotten, and with God, there is always another day to rise again and not only survive, but thrive.
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My BeLoved, may the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog
Special Note: I want to thank those who read what I write and are encouraged to support the ministry God has entrusted to me either one time or have decided to give on a monthly basis. I am encouraged to see certain verses playing out before my eyes like what is written in *Philippians 4:16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.*
To any who are interested, please feel free to reach out to me with prayer requests, questions, encouragement, or for information on how to come alongside me with financial support at pastord.blog@gmail.com or I do have a Zelle account associated with my phone number, 5202720387 last name Blaser. Thank you my Beloved for your ongoing prayers and support.
