Where would we be without our Dads! Moms and dads are very different. Each reflect a distinctive aspect of our Heavenly Parent and contribute something unique to children’s development. When our kids are young we don’t always recognize just how much they absorb from the world we create around them. This makes me think of the song “Want to be like you” by Rodney Atkins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uzK3VwzraM
Today, I want to give a huge thank you to all the dads for the things they give that I, as a mom, rarely do or think of! For example, when our kids were small their dad used to take them on hiking trips where they would sleep under the stars on mountain tops; priceless! But along the way they would gather cuts and bruises as they scrambled over rocks and through mud. The dad solution would go something like this, “You don’t need a band aid, just lick it!” I guess you can put that in the category of God given intuitive knowledge, as now science has proven that is exactly what you should do! Apparently, saliva is teeming with antibodies and all sorts of good stuff that promotes healing.
I ask myself, what else do men know that is good for growing children? Dads are a special kind of superhero because they are a point of reference, and when you are young they are the measure of everything. It’s a great and fearful thing to be a father!
There’s nothing like the importance you feel when your dad pays you attention. I remember a beautiful video we made a couple of years ago. We asked some young adults to share a thank you to their dads on Father’s Day. One young woman reminisced, “Thank you dad for all the things you did for me, especially taking me to the Monster Truck show when I was in 5th grade! I’ll never forget that experience.” Of course, that was just a fun memory but it was also a lasting gift from a father to his child.
In good times and in bad
When we think about a father or a father figure, or even our Father in Heaven, we are looking for someone who can be there in good times and in bad times, who can guide 
us on our way. We talk a lot about prayer at Faith Fusion as a means to connect with our Heavenly Parent, but some prayers can’t necessarily be answered. Now, that may sound a little heretical! But think about it, what if you prayed, “God protect me from everything bad? I want nothing bad to happen in my life.” Can God answer a prayer like that? Well, not really. Does that make God a bad Parent? I bet every Father reading this wants nothing more than to protect their child from every sadness and disappointment. Nevertheless, I think it’s impossible to go through life without encountering difficulty.
One thing that I appreciate about Unificationist faith is the understanding that every person has a portion of responsibility and even God, the creator of the Universe, cannot control all outcomes. So where does that leave us; without hope?
Perhaps, a better prayer is to ask for wisdom to navigate your circumstances and the vision and fortitude to do so; to know you have a Heavenly Parent who stands beside you through everything; a Father that you can rely on in times of difficulty. When you feel understood you discover the power within yourself to overcome.
Sandstorm in a glass
You have heard me quote from Rev Moon’s sermons from time to time. Recently, his daughter, In Jin Moon, shared that while it wasn’t always easy growing up as the daughter of Rev Moon, she did benefit from his wisdom and steadiness as a Father. She described how one day she came home from school after a particularly hard day and like any 11 year old, felt defeated. He comforted her and reminded her that sometimes our lives seem to come tumbling down around us but we need to remember it’s only a sandstorm in a glass.
When the storm calms, the dust settles and then you are able to see clearly once more because you have much needed perspective. Next time you are caught unawares and find yourself hurled into the middle of a storm remember it’s only a sandstorm in a glass and in time everything will settle.
When people tell their faith stories, they always talk about the people God put in their path – someone who helped them through a difficult time or gave them all-important perspective. I am sure you have done this for someone too. We might call these friends, who it appears on the surface as though you met at random, “heaven sent.”
Listening and looking for God
Two characteristics define a Heaven Sent friend. We might feel as though we heard God’s voice speaking personally to us through something they said, or we might see God in their presence or life. When either of these two things happens, our faith grows. If you want your faith to grow it is good to listen and look for God around you. He is surely there.
I recently called a friend who has been going through a difficult time. It was a spur of the moment thing but it was the right moment. I responded to a strong intuition. She was in crisis. I didn’t know that but our Heavenly Parent knew and sent a friend her way.
How do you know when a message is from God and not just kind words? First of all, it goes right to your heart and it resonates. You just know it. God does want to speak to you, if you want to listen.
I imagine God’s dream is a world full of Heaven Sent people helping each other on life’s journey.
Pivotal circumstances
Heaven Sent friends are hugely important in our life of faith as we inevitably meet pivotal circumstances – these are defining moments – the moments we remember, that stand out in our mind. They can be good moments such as winning a scholarship, getting married, finding a new job opportunity or having a child. Alternatively, the defining moment can be negative such as the death of someone you love, the loss of an opportunity, being hurt by a friend. Under these circumstances our faith can hang in the balance and go either way. Under adverse circumstances faith can either deepen or be destroyed. Pivotal circumstances can tip you toward greater faith or snap the delicate thread between you and God.
The trouble with such defining moments is they sneak up on you unawares and you don’t know what’s happened until you are stuck in the mud and mire of cynicism or disappointment. But it’s not the circumstances themselves that destroy us but how we interpret the circumstances.
Andy Stanley writes in his book “Deep and Wide” about this point, citing a media mogul who had wanted to be a missionary. His sister contracted Leukemia and they were all invited to pray for her recovery. Unfortunately, she died leaving the young man with the feeling that God couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t the events themselves that broke his faith but his interpretation of them. What kind of God is this that lets my sister die? I am sure you too have teetered on the edge of that cliff.
Interpretation is everything which is why it is necessary to pray in the midst of difficulty and search for those Heaven Sent people and messages.
I believe in a personal God, there is a heart behind the Universe that cares and loves and doesn’t wish to visit suffering on people, even bad people. Perhaps you have had a moment in time when you truly felt like a channel for love or compassion that was beyond just you being you. We have the power to tap into God’s love. This is what needs to be remembered in moments of difficulty.
When you are in the sandstorm in a glass, before the dust settles two things make a difference: how you see and understand the world and life, and who you are connected to. It matters who you travel in life with.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 reminds us of this wisdom:
“Two are better than one…If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.”
We need people around us that help us connect to a bigger vision of where our life is going and what we are doing.
Getting unstuck
If you have ever lost sight of the big picture you don’t need to feel bad. You are not alone! Some pretty famous people have had the same difficulty. One such man was John the Baptist. He was well respected as a man of God and known for his aestheticism and sincerity. He was chosen by God to help the people of Israel receive Jesus as the Messiah. He had a profound spiritual experience whereby he recognized Jesus for who he was. But later, he wound up imprisoned in Herod’s dungeon. We don’t know how long he languished there, but it was long enough for doubt to set in. John sent word to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who is to come or should we wait for another?” Jesus gave exactly the right response. He didn’t stoop to John’s level but instead tried to reconnect John to the big picture, “Don’t you see, the lame walk, the blind see…”
That’s the kind of friend we need.
We too become upset in situations where we are uninformed or misinformed. We lose perspective and are taken down in the process. You can see this pattern throughout the Bible and the rest of life as well. In Psalm 73 the writer bemoans:
“I envied the arrogant when I saw prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles. Their bodies are healthy and strong; they are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by common ills…surely in vain have I kept my heart pure.”
Sound familiar? Like us, he struggled. Nevertheless, everything turned around once his perspective changed and he could see things differently. In connecting to God he could, once more, see the big picture.
“When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me, until I entered the sanctuary of God.”
The power of God’s love
When we are able to find God in the midst of life’s pivotal circumstances, our faith is strengthened. When we help people find God in the middle of difficulty their faith is reinforced. Pivotal circumstances can test us, but also have the potential to boost our confidence in God rather than destroy it. For that to happen we need to understand 
the context and have someone to help us interpret what is happening. On this Father’s Day I want to thank all the Fathers for the special role they play in their children’s lives.
“Heaven begins from a heart that overcomes the world. Although Heaven may exist all around us, if our own mind is separated from God we cannot perceive it, we cannot be harmonized with it, and it would be meaningless to us. Therefore the basis for receiving the Kingdom of Heaven is not the environment, but, I, myself. The pillar for maintaining the Kingdom of Heaven is not my circumstances, but my own heart.” – Sun Myung Moon
