Navigating the Emotional Challenges of Father's Day: Healing, Coping, and Finding Comfort

What's up, guys? Welcome to Demo with Mo. I'm your host, Monique Simmons. We'll be discussing dating, engaged and married objectives from a young Christian's perspective. Are you guys ready? Let's dive in. Hey, what's up, guys? Welcome to a new episode of Demo with Mo. I am your host, Monique Simmons, and if you are listening to this live, you know that we just celebrated Father's Day. Shout out to all of our amazing fathers. Whether you are biologically the father, you are a step or a bonus father, father-in-law, or you are a father figure, you guys are absolutely needed and you are amazing And we appreciate you. I want to specifically honor my husband, who you guys heard on the podcast last week as we celebrated our wedding anniversary, but I really want to honor him for being a great father. My husband did not have the blueprint. He did not have a great relationship with his dad growing up. He really didn't know what it should look like over 15 years ago when we both became parents, and he became a father specifically. He never let that stop him or never allowed that to be an excuse for him not showing up for us, our family, every single day, providing I mean from day one when he had fast food, jobs or the things some people would look down on or feel like they're too good for it to work. My husband never had an issue. He would always work and keep a job to provide for our family and he would continue to grow and mature and get better and learn so many things along the way. So, he ended up working from those fast food and again, those jobs that some people would look down on. He did that because that's what he needed to do at the time because, as you guys know those of you who have been listening and rocking with me for a while, we became parents very young and most of you know when you become a parent or you create a family, you have to take care of your family. That has to be your priority and my husband always made our family a priority. He always worked hard and even back then, when it all first began and he had to work his way up through his career and on his job, I'm just proud of the man that he is Like. As I'm sitting here talking about it, i am reminiscing over the years and the jobs that my husband worked in the past and back then we didn't make a lot of money Some of those jobs. We knew it really wouldn't lead to anywhere, but it was a means to an end. It was to get us what we needed for where we were back then, until we got to the place where we are today, and we will continue to grow. We have not arrived, we will never arrive, but my point is saying this is I honor him for that, and not only providing but showing up for our kids. My husband goes to all events, all programs, all extracurricular activities, the drop off and pickups for practices, the need to leave work if I can to get to doctor's appointments, the picking up from daycare, taking kids to school in the morning, so just showing up. Like you don't realize how important it is to have a parent show up for you, like to show up for you in everything, not just when I'm doing. Well, even if one of our kids were to get in trouble or had a bad day at school and the teacher may have called or they get sick, i mean whatever it is. My husband has always showed up for our babies and they're not babies but they're our babies. He has always showed up for them And it's his wife to just watch him in that father role and to know his history and his background and where he came from. And there are so many people out there who let some of the smallest or simplest things keep them from doing what they need to do, and I'm not speaking of just being a parent. But we can use the smallest things to hinder us from being who we need to be, from getting us where we need to be, from doing the things that we should be doing, taking care of our responsibilities, honoring our commitments to other people. We can let the smallest thing hinder us from that. And just knowing who my husband is and where my husband came from and to watch him, to watch him in this role, is a dead. It is amazing to me, it is absolutely amazing to me. I don't take that for granted and I don't take it lightly. June is a special month for my family. June is a special month in our household. We have a lot of stuff going on. Our youngest child birthday is in June, our wedding anniversary is in June, father's Day is in June And my husband's birthday is in June. So June is full of activities, full of excitement, full of love for our home. So not only do I honor you and celebrate you for our wedding anniversary on last week. But I honor you and celebrate you as a father, but not any father. You're an amazing father. Happy Father's Day, mr Simmons. All right, let's go ahead and jump into today's episode, when Father's Day isn't so happy, to disclaimers, because I know by hearing that title you may start to thinking or assume in what I'm going to be talking about. This will not be a father bashing session. If that is what you're looking for. This is not the episode for you. Today's episode will be focusing on the child who Father's Day may be difficult for. And two, if you are not in a place emotionally to hear this episode, you may want to pause it and come back and listen to it later Because, again I told you, if you're listening to this live, father's Day has just passed, so for a lot of people you may not be in a place emotionally to even want to deal with this or talk about this or hear me even talk about this. Sometimes we can be so emotionally overwhelmed or heavy. We just can't take any more of that right now. So if that is you today, i encourage you to pause this episode and come back and listen to it later, because I don't want to bring you any more pain or cause you any more hurt than you already feel if you're not in the place for that. So what we're going to be discussing today is when Father's Day isn't so happy, what can we do? Because, realistically speaking, just like Mother's Day, everyone doesn't feel so great around this holiday. Everyone is not excited about the holiday. Some people are grieving on Father's Day. Some people are reminded of the relationships they have with their fathers. Some people are reminded that their father is no longer here, so they may not feel happy about Father's Day because of lost or deaf, and even for some dads, they've lost a child. Some people have never met their fathers. They don't have a relationship with them at all. Some people don't even know who their father is. There are also some men who desire nothing more than to be a dad, but they haven't became weak just yet. So there are numerous various reasons of why Father's Day isn't so happy for many. But what can we do? That's what we're going to talk about today. You guys know that I am big on practical application. Show me, tell me, what can I do with this? How can I figure this out? What ways or practical things, tangible things can I do to help this situation or these circumstances that I'm in, and not just with this specific topic, but in life in general. Yeah, we go through things, we face things, we feel things, but, practically speaking, what can I do with these feelings? What can I do when I'm facing these hard times? And that's kind of what I want to stress that That's not what I kind of want to discuss today. That is what I want to discuss today. Number one pay attention to yourself. How am I responding to things? Am I more or less active? How is my body feeling? What thoughts have I been thinking? Has my mood changed? Begin to ask yourself these questions, because sometimes we could be so busy in a day to day, in a routine of things, that we don't even notice. The people around us can notice, they definitely notice, but we may not even notice or take the time out to notice. Things are changing with us. What's going on? Why am I feeling this way right now? Okay, father's day is coming up. I may be feeling a little more anxious. Father's day is coming up. I've been sad lately. I haven't been wanting to get out the bed lately. I really don't want to talk to family. Begin to notice those things and pay attention to those things about yourself. Don't ignore the engine life. I've talked about this in previous episodes, about our emotions, our engine lights for us, how we respond to things, what we think about things. These are our engine lights. It is just that warning. It's that way of showing you, telling you that something else is wrong. Okay, i am being short with the people that I love, i have a bad attitude, i'm feeling sad. Everything is making me cry. I'm keeping my door to my bedroom clothes. I don't want to be bothered. I'm more shut off than usual. I really haven't been answering phone calls Like pay attention to these things, because they are that engine light, that warning, that notification that something is going on, something is different here, something is wrong here, something is changing here and pay attention to it. Don't ignore it, because you know what happens to your car when your engine light is on and you keep driving and you ignore it. The car more than likely usually breaks down. I don't want that for you and I don't want that for myself as well. So pay attention to yourself, and not even just around father's day, but any other holiday or event or something that happens, or a specific time of the season, or maybe a birthday or anniversary, like certain things that you know are going to come up that may trigger some things in you. Begin to pay attention to yourself and see how you're reacting. How's your body feeling, what's changing, how's my mood, how's my attitude? Two acknowledge how you feel. Okay. So, once you begin to pay attention to yourself ooh, i have been a little nasty lately, i have been short with my family lately, i have had a bad attitude, i have been kind of sad and depressed or feeling lonely, when I usually don't feel any of these things, or I am noticing that I've been acting differently lately. Acknowledge how you feel. Don't pretend that you're okay if you're not, and begin to make space for that, even if it's ugly and uncomfortable. So for me and we'll get more into this in my next one But for the past couple weeks leading up into Father's Day, i began to notice things in myself, but it was a little different for me because I couldn't really pinpoint what was going on with me, because there were a lot of snowball effects in my life. There were a lot of different things that were happening in different places with different relationships, and I won't go into details with that, but I just want you to know. For me it wasn't one thing, it was multiple things happening in different areas. So I could notice a change in some of the ways I was responding, and even not so much with just responding. But because I'm in touch with how I feel in my emotions, with work through therapy, i can begin to acknowledge that something is different, like why am I thinking these thoughts? Why am I having these feelings? Why is my body feeling this way? Why am I beginning to have more migraines? Like I began to notice things about myself. Again Back to that first point. I told you, pay attention to yourself, because when you know yourself, when you have that relationship with yourself and you're in tune with you, you know when things are different. But again, for the past couple weeks leading up into Father's Day, it was other things happening, so I could not pinpoint what was going on with me. But once I sat down with myself and really thought about it, i understood what was going on and I acknowledged how I feel. I didn't try to lie, i didn't try to talk myself out of it, i didn't try to ignore it and push it down. I didn't try to pretend that I really wasn't feeling that way. Or here's one of my big ones. I don't know if you guys do this, but I didn't try to talk myself out of it. Like, don't get me wrong. There are some times in our life because you got to be able to encourage yourself. You got to because the enemy is always taking our minds. He's always feeding lies to us and wanting us to believe things that aren't true. So hear me when I say this. This is not what I'm saying. Not to encourage yourself, not to remember and think on the things which are good. That's not what I'm saying. Don't negate the word of God. What I'm saying is, if you know that you are feeling sad, you are feeling hurt, you are feeling lonely, you are feeling whatever it is concerning Father's Day coming up, whatever the emotions that come up for you, what I'm saying is don't try to now pip, talk yourself out of it like it's not true, because I can see here all day long and say, money, you don't have to feel this way. You shouldn't feel this way. Your life is good. You have your kids now. You are a great parent to them. You have your husband now. He's this amazing father to your kids, and I can see here and talk all of those things, which all of those things are true, by the way, but that does not change how I feel about Father's Day, about my father, the emotions and the feelings that are coming up about my father, specifically concerning Father's Day. So I'm not saying not to encourage yourself, especially so you don't stay in a funk, but what I don't want you to do is push your feelings down, because when you do yourself that pip talk, what happens is you begin to suppress those emotions, suppress those feelings, and I promise you it's only so far you're going to be able to push them down. It's only so far you're going to be able to suppress them. They're going to come back up one way or another. So I want you to honor yourself by honoring your feelings, being real with yourself. Man, i am sad, i am hurt. I wanted this from my dad. I miss my dad. Maybe my dad is not here on earth anymore. Maybe I wanted this great relationship that we can't seem to have. Maybe one day I thought this about my dad, but it's not true. And now I have to accept that all of the different thoughts that you may be thinking are all of the different ways you may feel. It be feeling about your dad specifically, because all of us experience totally different things. All of us have a variety of relationships with our days, a variety of different emotions and different feelings and different thoughts concerning our days. But what I'm saying to you is, whatever that feeling is, acknowledge it. Don't pretend that it's not there. Three talk to someone you trust and or love Holding stuff in because you think you're strong. Or the famous saying have you said this one? Everyone has their own issues. Or what about this one? I don't want to burden anyone with my stuff. Fun fact I've said and done all of these things, but the truth is that it was a defense mechanism for me. It may, you know this, may not be your thing. Don't claim this. If it ain't yours, you may have a different response or a different reason, but this was a defense mechanism to protect myself from being hurt again. If they knew how I really felt or what I really thought, would they still love me? Would they cover me and not criticize me? Are they safe space? or will they mishandle me in my emotions? What I've learned through therapy is it is okay to share vulnerable parts of myself with people who have earned it. When we don't share or open up, what's eventually going to happen is all of that hurt or pain is going to begin to spill out, and it's usually on the people we love Before Father's Day, matter of fact, the day before Father's Day. I did not schedule this on purpose, but I'm glad that it worked that way, and I always know there's those small little things that most people wouldn't notice or pay attention to. I'd be like Lord. I thank you Because I know that was you, because God loves us in such a personal, intimate way. He cares about the things that concern us, that bother us, that we care about Those small little things like that. It just reminds me of his love for me. So I ended up going to see my therapist the day before Father's Day Again, not realizing it was going to be the day before Father's Day. But when I got into my therapy session I began to share, and I'm telling you this because I'm telling you in this point that you should talk to someone you trust and or love. So I'm sending my therapy session and I'm completely open. I'm not holding back, which is what I do in most relationships I share certain parts of me. I don't share all of them. So I'm sharing with my therapist how I'm feeling about Father's Day And just to give you a little context, because you guys have heard my mom on the podcast. So I openly talk about my relationship with my mom and things that we've kind of gone through in our relationship here and there, but I'm pretty open about it, even though I still hold back on certain things that involve other people. Well, i don't usually share about my dad on the podcast, but I'm sending therapy And, again for context, i want you guys to know, without going into all details, but growing up I was a daddy's girl. My dad and I had an amazing relationship. That's why I watched my husband with our girls and I'm just amazed because they are daddy's girls. It's real And I'm just like man. I remember that. But growing up I was a full-blown daddy's girl. My daddy could do no wrong. Even if he was wrong. I didn't see it or I didn't believe it or I didn't think it, but I was a full-blown daddy's girl which, if you guys heard the Mother's Day series episode with my mom, she said that you know, i've always been that way, far back, is a toddler. I can't even remember those days, but my mom shared on the podcast that I've always been a daddy's girl and I was And my dad and I had a great relationship. We talked all the time. I mean everything. I hung out with my dad. He taught me how to drive When I was a preteen. I wasn't even nowhere near the legal age when I learned how to drive, but that's why I'm an amazing driver today because of my dad. He was patient with me. I mean, he was just all around great dude and a great father Head south. He was a great father. I will never take that away from him. So when I talk about these things, i don't ever wanted to shine a negative light on my dad or as if my dad wasn't there, because some people may hear this and could think because I'm not going into full-blown details of what's going on. I know we can begin to have assumptions about things and what I'm trying to tell you is my dad was an amazing father, but when I became an adult, something happened between him, my mom and I. That was completely out of my control and it changed our relationship. That's me telling you without telling you, but something happened and it changed our relationship completely. It went from us talking every day to sometimes going months without talking to each other. It went from us hanging out seeing each other to maybe seeing each other on special occasions or holidays. So when I paint this picture, i want you to understand and I know there are some people who can relate but I'm saying this because I was sitting in my therapist's office and she knows, you know, i've been seeing my therapist for a while now and she knows my background, she knows my history, she knows about the relationship with my dad and all of those things. So I'm sitting there telling her how I'm feeling about Father's Day, how I was feeling about even coming to the session with her when I realized that it was the day before Father's Day, because something that I don't do with therapy I don't ever hold back, i don't keep anything from her. This is the one place where I feel safe. I can share how I feel without judgment. I can be completely transparent and authentic. So I get in the session and I'm telling her how I'm feeling about Father's Day, how I was feeling anxious about coming to see her and why I was feeling that way, because I am not an anxious person at all And I began to explain to her how sad I was. I hadn't even realized I knew something was going on in me. I knew I was changing, my feelings were changing, there was emotions coming up in me, but I could not pinpoint it because there was so many other things going on in my life at the time that I really couldn't understand. And then I began to tell her. Even before I got to my session. I realized what was going on and why I was feeling the way that I was feeling, because this past almost year now, i have been working through so many things with her, with my therapist, and unpacking and expressing things that I have never expressed and sharing the ways I felt about things that I have never shared before. And this year, this Father's Day, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm just gonna be honest with y'all. It hit me like a ton of bricks because I started grieving that this man who I once was so close to, who in my sight could never do any wrong, who I talked to every day, who was the parent that I always something was going on in my life or I had good news, or even if something hard was going on in my life. He was the parent that I talked to. He was the person that I would reach out to And because he was such an amazing dad to me, when the fallout happened, it changed my whole life And it changed my relationship with the person that I loved the most And I grieved that and I sat at her office on the couch and I just boo-hooed about numerous things. I cried about numerous things, but that one specifically, because it's like people who grow up without their dad. I know that there's a tremendous hole there that no one else can feel Besides God. No one else can feel that hole. But that's what your experience has always been that Father not being there. So that's what you've always known. You've always seen him in that life. But for me I grieved different, because My dad was an amazing father to me. We had a great relationship and a decision someone else made that I had no part in. It changed the dynamic of our whole relationship And now I'm grieving the fact that I don't have this anymore. But I know this is the father that you are. So talk to someone you trust and or love someone that can really make space for you, not somebody that's going to try to judge how you're feeling, not somebody that's going to try to make you feel bad and say you only have one father Cause. These are things that you know, you hear all of all of the time, without people even knowing the context or the background or having empathy to even understand or be able to relate to how you feel. That umbrella statement does not fit for everyone And if that has been your experience, if that someone has told you that I am so sorry. I am so sorry, but find people that you trust and or love and really begin to share your heart with them, share how you really feel. Again, back to that last point, acknowledging your feelings. Once you begin to acknowledge it within yourself, you can begin to open up with other people and share with them as well. But again, make sure it's people that you can trust and or love, cause you don't want somebody to mis-hounder you, because what's going to happen is, once you open up to somebody and they don't hounder you well, they don't hounder your emotions and how you're feeling about this well, you're going to be very resistant to opening up again And I don't want that for you. I really don't want that for you, because for years I held a lot of this stuff in. I never talked about it, and that's one of the beautiful things about this podcast. This podcast has been very therapeutic for me. I have been able to say out loud a lot of things that I haven't even been comfortable sharing in personal circles, just because, as I told you guys earlier, you know a defense mechanism of if I show them all of me, what would they do with that. Next point under the time you had and the memories you share with them this is for those who dad has passed away, or to the dad whose child has passed away and to those who once had a great relationship with their dad but for various reasons you don't anymore You guys can begin to, under that time and the memories that you shared with them, the good times focusing on that, the love that you guys shared with one another, the things that they taught you, the wisdom they may have shared, the laughs, the adventures, the vacations, the silly moments, even the sad moments that you guys may have shared together, but it was yours. It was in that connected you two together, because that father-child relationship can be a beautiful, beautiful thing, and I really want you to honor that. This is specifically for those who have lost their father, and to those dads who have lost their child and to those children who once had a great relationship with their dad but, for whatever reason, don't anymore. Again, like I told you guys in the last point, growing up I was a daddiest girl, had an amazing relationship with my father. It was nothing like it, like nobody could say anything negative when it came to my dad. And even in those moments now when I'm sad or I'm grieving or I'm missing what once was, i do remind myself of the good times that we shared and the amazing things that I do remember and how much I loved that time together and what it meant to me and how it impacted my life. Even now as an adult woman And I don't throw that away. Even though things are not the way I desired them to be or want them to be, i still have those memories And I can't think on those things and I can't under the time we did have together, and I hope you're able to do the same, as we are Five. If social media or certain people in your life around a subject of father's day is triggering, try to avoid that or them. This can be an unwanted, constant reminder of what you desire but don't or can't have. So if you know you're feeling sad about father's day, you know father's day has never come up, or father's day is here And even a few days after father's day, you know the timeline is gonna be full of people sharing their moments and their memories and their pictures and their posts and how they feel about their amazing fathers, which they should, they absolutely should. But if you know that you're not in a good place for that, if you know that's gonna be triggering for you, if you know that's gonna take you on a downward spiral, i would encourage you to try to avoid social media for a while, just until you're in a better place. Or maybe to the father's day, talk has died down a little bit, and that's just for your well-being. If you know this is something that's gonna be hurtful to you, avoid it And to those people in your life. It could be family, it could be friends who constantly bring up your father. Have you talked to your dad? When are you gonna talk to your dad? Did you reach out to your dad? You only have one dad dad, dad, dad, dad. If you know you have people in your life that's gonna be like that and this is for those of you who people in your life may know about your relationship with your father. They may know what place you guys are in and why. And even for those who have no idea. But if you are with people or around people or talking to people who are constantly bringing this up and you know this is not gonna make you feel good, you know this is gonna take you into a negative headspace or it's gonna be hurtful to you, avoid conversations with these people until you are in a place where you can deal with it or handle it. But if you know you're not in that place and you know you get on the phone with your sister and she gonna be bringing up your daddy and all this and all this and telling you what you should do, you may need to avoid talking to your sister for a little while. Or if you're in a place to sit healthy boundaries to be vocal about how you're feeling. But again, that just depends on where you are emotionally and how you feel, because sometimes we have so much going on I don't have time to have no conversation with nobody. Try to sit healthy boundaries, tell them how I feel and respect how I feel. Sometimes we're just not there. I have too much going on. What's better for me is to put my phone on do not disturb. What's better for me is to ignore your call. When you call me, what's better for me is not to respond to the text. What's better for me is to talk to you two weeks after Father's Day, when I'm in a better place, when I've agreed the relationship, or grieve the loss or work through all of the things that I'm feeling OK. Next, point, number six, for those of you who are Christians or believers, remember God is our Father, the greatest Father. He loves us, protects us, provides for us, wants to be an intimate relationship with us, wants to hear about our life, the good and bad, and he's a great listener. He tells us the truth, he directs us and shows us the way. He pursues us constantly, even when we don't want anything to do with him. He is constantly pursuing us to get us back into a right relationship with him. Everything you could want in an earthly Father, god is. 1. John 3 and 1 in the NIV version says see what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. So God is our father When you gave your life to Christ and he accepted you and adopted you into his family. He is now your father And he again. He is an amazing father, the best to ever do it, and that is no exaggeration. So even if you don't have their earthly father, or even if your earthly father is not here anymore, or even if your earthly father is but you don't have a great relationship with him, i want you to find comfort in knowing that there is a God who loves you so much. I mean, he loves you so much, he loves us so much that he was willing and not only willing, but he did He gave up his own son to save us. So know that you have a father who loves you so much. Even if you don't feel that way, i want you to know and be reminded that you do. Seven don't allow what someone does or doesn't do to make you believe something is wrong with you. I'm going to play that back Don't allow what someone does or doesn't do to make you believe something is wrong with you. I really want you to take a moment and receive that. I mean, i really want you to take a moment and receive that, because as a child, and even being an adult child, you don't toss that away. When you become an adult, that's not what happens. The things that you felt as a child or the things that you thought were wrong with you, especially if your father was never in your life. You didn't know your father, you didn't have a relationship with your father, or your father once was there, but for whatever reason, he abandoned you. He left you. He wasn't in the picture anymore. A child can begin to take on those things. He left because of me. What was wrong with me? Was I not good enough? Did I not make the right grace? Was I not respectful? Was I not lovable? Was I broken? All of the lies that we can begin to tell ourselves. I encourage you today, even as an adult, listening to this, because I know you may be playing that same tape in your head even today. What is wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with you. The negative thoughts, the lies you tell yourself, the guilt or shame you may carry. Don't take someone else's decisions on as your own. What someone does, that's not on you. What's on you now is how you respond to what they do or don't do, both their decisions, how they treated you, how they showed up for you If they weren't there, if they were there part-time, they were in and out of your life, all your life. If they hurt you, they treat you right, abuse. You. Don't take that on as your own. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with you. And number eight, last but definitely not least, know that you are not alone. There are so many people, man and women, who are not so happy about Father's Day, who are grieving for various reasons. Their dad is not here anymore. Their child they lost is not here anymore. Their relationship with their father is broken. Some never met their dad. Some are wishing they had the dads that other people have and they're comparing their relationship with their dads. So there's some mean desire and wanting nothing more than to be a dad. There are so many various reasons why we can be grieving or sad or just not so happy about Father's Day, and I just want you to be encouraged and know, be reminded, that you are not alone, because when you are in a hurtful space, a sad space, a grieving space. it can feel like you are alone. Nobody understands, nobody gets it, nobody knows why you feel the way you feel, but I promise you you are not alone. You are not alone. I hope these eight points on what we can do when Father's Day isn't so happy, i really hope they helped you on today And I'm going to take them and use them for myself. And most of these points I have applied to my own life and that's why I'm sharing them with you, because, through the work of therapy, through the self work, through my relationship with God and maturing and my relationship with him, most of these things I have applied to my life and realized that they worked. So I really hope that they help you. Wherever you are today. Dear God, thank you for the people who are listening to this episode. Lord, i ask that you comfort them, remind them that you love them, even if they don't feel that love in that relationship with their father, those who may be grieving a loss of their father, the fathers who may be grieving a loss of their child. That you bring them peace that surpasses all understanding and that you help them remember the good times, the love that they shared, the memories that they had together And, lord, i pray that that brings them some kind of comfort. Especially around these holidays, where so many people are talking about their fathers and honoring and celebrating their fathers, it may be hurtful for them. Give them exactly what they stand in the need of Lord. I lift up those men who want nothing more than to be a dad, who desire in their heart to be a dad, who have been trying and, for whatever reason, they have not become a dad kid. Lord, i ask that you help them to trust you during this time of waiting, that you will send them people that would encourage them, that you would give them the resources that they need. Give them the wisdom on how to proceed if it's something that they need to do, some changes they need to make. Give them exactly what they stand in the need of God. Those people who may be listening who've never met their father some don't even know who their father is. I can't even imagine the hurt that they must feel, but I know that you know all things. So, lord, i ask that you, that you give them people around them that reminds them that they are loved and cared for and they are worthy and that there is nothing wrong with them. They are not broken. They are worthy of love and worthy of that relationship with a father, a great father, and it is nothing that they have done And it's not about who they are that their father is not there. Feel that void in their life, lord, god, because I know that you are the only person that can feel that void within us. And Lord, for those people who may have once had a relationship with their dad and, for whatever reason, even becoming an adult child or something traumatic happened, whatever, because we know that the parent and adult child relationship can be difficult, it can be tricky, there can be various reasons of why the dynamic has changed. But, lord, i ask that you love on them. If the relationship is able to be reconciled, it fix. Lord, i ask that you intervene, that you show them how to reconcile, that you help them to move past pride or forgiveness or shame or guilt or anything that may hinder that from being back into a great relationship. Lord, i ask that you just have your way and that you may be the one glorified in the restoration of that relationship. And if that relationship cannot be restored, i ask that you help that child or that parent to be content that they gave it their best, that they tried, and, lord, that they continue to put the rest in your hands, that they trust you with the rest, with the results. And, lord, thank you for being such a great father. No matter where we are, no matter how we feel, no matter our upbringings, our family dynamics, our history, who we are, what we've done, you are a great father. Everything that we could ever want in a father, ever desire in a father for the man listening, ever desire to be as a father. You have shown us the perfect example, not only in words, but in your actions, when you gave up your son, your only son, to save us, to make a way for us to have right relationship and to be in fellowship with you. If I ever want to know what it's like to be in relationship with an amazing father or a great father, all I have to do is look to my relationship with you. Thank you for that example, thank you for your love, thank you for feeling the void that I thought couldn't be filled. Lord, i ask that you help the people that are listening, not become bitter, not hold unforgiveness, not let this hinder them from being the people that you have called them to be, but I hope you help them to walk in love, to walk in forgiveness, to walk in hope, to be all that you have called them to be, in spite of what somebody else does, because we're not responsible for what other people do or don't do, but we are responsible for how we respond to it. So, lord, help us, because it ain't easy, i know it's not easy, but I know that all things with you, are possible. So help us all, lord, to be who you've called us to be. Wipe the tears away, bring joy and hope to those who are sad and grieving. Lord, i thank you. I thank you even for the privilege of prayer In your son Jesus' name. I pray Amen. All right, guys, remember I love you, but God loves you so much more And I'll see you next week. Bye, i hope you guys have enjoyed Follow me on Facebook at demo with Moe. If you have any questions you would like answered here live on my podcast, email them to me. At demo with Moe at gmailcom. That's D-E-M-O-W-I-T-H-M-O at gmailcom.