By Pastor Dave Mertz, Camp Harlow Program Director
“Happy Father’s Day!” That proclamation falls happily on my ears as it is shouted by the ones who have made me a proud father. I love the smiles and hugs and handmade cards—all wonderful elements of a Father’s Day celebration that I wondered if I would ever experience personally. Before Carrie and I were blessed with children, my wife and I navigated the deep, dark waters of infertility for several years. It was an extended time of quiet desperation, waiting and wondering if we would ever receive the news that we could have children. As a result of the extended time of wanting and waiting, God provided a backdrop in experience that has allowed us to empathize with those who are currently suffering (often in silent desperation) in the midst of the uncertainty of infertility.
“Happy Father’s Day!” did not fall freely from my lips as I was growing up. My father died when I was almost seven, leaving my mom to raise three boys on her own. My mom provided us with great amounts of love, encouragement, care, support, guidance, and patience as she played double duty working and being a single mom. As a result of growing up without a father, God provided a backdrop of experience that has allowed me to be able to empathize with those without a father on the scene. As I have grown in my faith and seen first-hand, God can be the father to the fatherless. His heart as a Father calls us not only to sit at His feet, but also to crawl up in His lap. He welcomes us home and calls us to be His child.
The more we get to know the heart of our Heavenly Father, the more we understand His great love for us. We can call out to Him as our Father, and we can cling to him as our Daddy...ABBA. Happy Father’s Day, indeed.
PS- The Harlow Staff that are before you this morning have the wonderful privilege and opportunity to extend God’s great grace, love, and mercy that is found in Jesus to hundreds and hundreds of kids at Camp Harlow this summer. Many kids will be coming to camp from strong and stable backgrounds, while many others will come from backdrops of turbulence. May their eyes be opened to the fact that God can be the father to the fatherless. Please pray that they will all get to know the heart of our Heavenly Father and respond to him in faith, obedience, and love.