Letters #005: The One Who's "Unlostable"

Balloons, cake, food, special greetings, candles, confetti... These are what I think of when I think of birthdays. What about you? What are some of the things you think of when you hear the word birthday?

Have you ever had to celebrate a birthday for someone dear to you who no longer is alive? Or maybe they are alive but you’ve lost touch with them.

I had to this past week. My dad’s posthumous birthday was on Friday. Since he's late, it's often a mixed emotional period in my life. A reminder of the man who played a role in my conception and upbringing. A reminder of the many loving childhood moments I had. But also a reminder of what I've lost, what is now missing in my life. Ordinarily, I'd be termed fatherless and that’d be it. Thankfully, I'm not necessarily that. Yes, my earthly father is dead. Yes, I’ve lost him. But I still have a father.

I have a father who is THE father. I have a father who can't be lost or missing. One who keeps me so even I have nothing missing, nothing broken. The creator of the universe, the ruler of the world, galaxies, planets and systems. He is victorious over death and boundless; I mean he lives forevermore and is not restrained by time or space or a fleshly exterior. That's my father and he will not leave me nor forsake me.

Perhaps like I asked earlier, you haven’t lost that dear one, as in they no longer are alive but you’ve lost touch and maybe there’s a gap or a mixed moment period in your life that comes as a result of this. Maybe instead of fatherless, you’re being termed friendless, heartbroken, abandoned, rejected, alone, you name it. Our experiences might not exactly be similar but what I want you to know and hold on to today, this week and forever, is this: Just as my father’s death doesn’t necessarily define me, whatever it is you’ve lost, doesn’t have to define you. Just as I have found a father in God, an “unlostable” father, you too can find in God, whatever it is you need- Friend, father, lover, mentor, guide, guard, provider. You can find everything you need in the Lord and be rest assured that it is “unlostable”.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 (NLT)

So I invite you to join me to say happy posthumous birthday to my earthly dad and glory to God, my father who was, and is, and is to come. I invite you also to call on him(God) now as the one whom you need and for that which you need. And if you’re not in this space of needing something, consider calling on him for another you know that has a need. What you’ve lost doesn’t have to be the end or define you.

As always, I love you and today, I want to leave you with these words from one of my fave writers- “Keep fighting forward dear friend”.

Yami