Day 2 of giving thanks for all that I have in my life.  Today, I want to give thanks to for my family.  There has been no greater influence on me than my family and rightfully so.  I am who I am because of my family; good, bad or ugly.

As I write this post, I sit across from a new mother who is burping her 2-month-old baby.  He is so small and so vulnerable.  She sits reading her book and patting her baby’s back.  She provides comfort, safety, and of course love.  She holds him delicately as she looks into his eyes with great love.  It is a “job” that you can tell she loves and would not trade for the world.  She has created an environment for her son where he can sleep and not worry about anything.

I wonder what that little boy will turn out to be, but one thing I don’t have to wonder about is he is loved.  That love is his blessings.  I too can say that I have had that blessing.  I have received love as a son, husband, a father, a son-in-law, brother-in-law and as a pastor.  What is unfortunate is that there are people in our world that have not received this kind of love in their lives.

Their mother or father did not create all the advantages they needed for one reason or another.  They don’t know what it is like to be “patted on the back.”  They can’t rest in the love their parents give them.  All they have known is chaos, and that is sad.  It is all too common in our society today.

What can you do if your life is in chaos?  What can you do if you have not been given the advantage of loving parents?  How can you feel love?  I would encourage you to go to the eternal Father.  You say, “But I have a bad relationship with my earthly father, I don’t know If I want a relationship with an all-powerful heavenly Father?”  I can understand that feeling.

I want to encourage you today. Give God a chance to be your Heavenly Father. If your earthly father was not so good, let God show you and treat you like good father should have done. If you earthly father was good, your Heavenly Father will be better.  My heavenly Father has never let me down.  Sure it might have felt like it but when I reflect, I know He has never left me or forsaken me.  Give your heavenly Father a try.  Let Him show you and treat you like a real father treats His kids.  Let him love you.