I am thankful for all of my FATHERS....

[Phil Hoover]

Yep, you read it right, I used the plural word, "Fathers"....because I have so many. I am thankful for every single one of them. Let me explain:

My biological father pretty much abandoned me when I was a baby (after he and my biological mother separated and eventually divorced). I grew up without parents who were regularly in my life in a meaningful and profound way. My father's mother, my Granny Hoover, raised me, for the most part.

She had a lot of help. Help that she never asked for, but also help that GOD Himself (the PERFECT FATHER) knew that she (and I) needed.

Even though my biological father was/is an alcoholic (among other vices), God knew that HE Himself would bring very loving and wise men into my life--who would show me what GOD the Father is really like.

I think of these precious, godly men who loved Christ, loved me, and helped me see that my Heavenly Father is FAR superior to anything my earthly father could ever be in my life. I don't want to start naming them in this post, because I'm sure that I will inadvertently leave someone's name out. Now that I've danced around "the naming of names", I simply want to be thankful.

I grew up backward, awkward, and clumsy. I grew up with NO idea what it meant to become a "man"--not to mention a "man of God." I had no "father" in my life--a man who would take the time show me how to become the "man" that God had designed me to be.

But, I have learned this "process" slowly over the years. So many wonderful, gracious, and good men have loved me with the "love of the Father" and the love of "a father." I could never repay such a debt to these awesome friends.

I've done my best to call some of these "giants" in my life, already. Most of them have no idea what "FaceBook" is, nor do they really care. But they have shown me the "face of Jesus" many, many times. And His face has been seen clearly through them.

Some of the precious saints are already in their eternal residence. I miss them terribly. I know that we all have "more to go to heaven for than we had yesterday."

People like Leonard F Kendrick, R Hollis Gause, J E Brisson, Gary R Langley (and so many others)...these men showed me what "God the Father" really looks like....I so profoundly grateful for all of my fathers.

Phil Hoover
Chicago

[free]

Thanks for sharing Phil...I was blessed to have a wonderul father but there have been many spiritual father's in my life over the years.

As I get older I find myself wanting to become a spiritual father to the young men in my congregation and pour into their lives the way others have done for me.