I love saying the “LORD’s Prayer,” the words Yeshua – Jesus gave us to speak with OUR Father. Those sacred words may be the only Scripture some folks ever memorize from the Bible, and I am comforted knowing they can unite us in corporate prayer whenever we all pray them together. How many times have you prayed “Our Father in heaven, holy is Your Name…”

I’m asking the question today because I am headed toward another Father’s day, my fortieth to be exact, without my natural father on earth to honor. He died from a heroine-withdrawal induced heart attack in his mother’s bathroom when I was only 12. My father was a brilliant and gifted drummer with a broken heart and losing him was devastating. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain my grandparents suffered.

But God, my heavenly Father, has NEVER let me down. And, I can assure you, Vinnie Ruggiero was the best father a girl could ask for, not because of his mistakes, but because of his unabashed and fragrant love for me. I don’t blame my father for his suffering, and I don’t blame God either. Life teaches you that every breath, every smile, every moment spent being carried along by the power of God’s love is truly a life worth LIVING FOR. So, I feel like this Father’s Day, I would like to thank God for being my Father – as if He was living life right alongside me in a way my natural father never could.

Dear Father,

This Father’s Day, I just want to thank You for holding my hand when Mandie had her surgery last week. I didn’t realize how nervous I actually was about it, but I can look back now and am grateful You helped me stay calm. Thank You for introducing Alex to Mandie, he is a fine young man. I love watching him take care of her. He reminds me of You somehow. Wasn’t it great watching Simeon graduate high school last month? I can’t believe it! Thank You for the pep talk you gave him about trusting the path ahead. I can hear Your counsel coming out in his voice. Maybe now that the last one is grown, we can take that vacation together we all talk about all the time. Thank You for showing me and Mark how to raise our kids.

I am so amazed by our little granddaughter. Joe and Brit have such a bright future, and wow! They are just at the beginning of raising a family. Thanks for being a voice of reason and wisdom and counsel to all of us. Please keep showing us how to be good parents like You, especially to our adult children. Now that they are grown, I can see how very much I still need You to be my Dad. I appreciate You so much.

Here are the things about being Your daughter that I love the most! I love smiling when I think of You. I love when You show me what I am doing wrong so I can fix it. I love that You gave me Your personal diary to learn from our shared family tree. I love that You forgive me for my mistakes and help me make wise decisions. I love that You inspire me with creativity and surprise me daily in countless ways. More than anything though, I am grateful that You spend time with me whenever I stop and ask You to – and sometimes You just walk into the room and demand my attention.

If I could honor You this year with a special gift, this is what I would love to do for You. I would love to sit and listen to You tell me all the stories about how You became my Dad. I wish I could see it as a filmstrip. I would want to hug You after the first time You spanked me, or swatted my hand away from touching a hot pan on the stove. I wish I could see the expression on Your face when You first held me in your arms. Please know that I can feel Your love for me every day. Your love strengthens me and challenges me. Thank You for being my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I love You, really love You, and honor You, today.

Love always, Your girl – Daniah

I read the Bible every day to hear my Father’s voice to me. I wrote a book called ‘Simply Sacred,’ that shares my testimony about rebuilding my life from scratch – from my earliest memories – and my journey as the Mother of the TLV Bible Society. There is NEVER a bad time to honor your parents, including your Heavenly Father. Honoring your parents is loving and respecting them, forgiving and LIVING alongside them, walking by faith together in love. We were created to love God and love one another. That is the true measure of our faith in Messiah.

Love and blessings,
Daniah Greenberg