Years ago, I held a woman in my arms. She was sobbing on the floor and tears were flowing down her cheeks. Her chest was heaving…the tears were from a place that was deep in her soul. An agony that was at the epicenter of her existence. A pain that was profound…a cut that could never be healed.
That woman was my ex-wife.
What was she crying about?
It was about the father she never knew. A man that died two months before she was born. On a summer day in 1978, he had a heart attack as he was pouring coffee in the morning. He was only 48 years old…and he would never get to meet his unborn daughter.
And so she grew up…a little girl in the world. And yes, she had a mother that loved her. She had cousins and uncles that cared. But it wasn’t enough. For every year, there was somebody missing. Every Christmas, there was a present that was not under the tree.
What she was missing was a FATHER.
Year after year, an absence grew in her soul. The magical love that only a father could bring. A thousand kisses that she never received. A million hugs that she never felt. All the support of a father…his golden advice. An infinite love that was waiting for his little angel.
What grew inside of her was the Grand Canyon of Emptiness. A Marianas Trench of Despair. A cut that could never be healed.
If only she could have known him! Just to hold her Daddy for a day…to feel his strong support. To stand within his protective arms! She would have paid a million dollars to have felt it – if only for a minute.
My dear reader, gold is nothing when compared to the love that a father has for his daughter.
I could not save my marriage. She was too far gone. By the time I got her, the damage had been done. I tried, but it was futile. Nobody could put her back together again. The more I tried, the more painful it became. I was drawn closer to the fire. I saw a pain that I was not ready to see. And I felt an agony that was too deep for my life.
A house is constructed from the floor upward. If the foundation is not set correctly, then the house will always be wobbly.
Never let anybody tell you that a father is insignificant. Never let anybody tell you that a woman can “Do it on her own.” Never let anybody tell you that “The Future is Female.” It’s a giant lie. A media trick…
For gold is nothing when compared to the love that a father has for his daughter.
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