“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 14: 2-3
The first widely-promoted Father’s Day celebration
took place on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. Over the years, the
celebration spread from state to state until President Richard Nixon
established the third Sunday in June as the official Father’s Day in 1972 as we
know it in modern America today.
Certainly today, many of us will be honoring and
celebrating our living fathers, remembering our deceased fathers, and maybe
some will nurse sad memories and wounds of abusive or even absent fathers. But
thankfully, we can all rejoice that we have our Heavenly Father. A loving and
compassionate Father who will never leave us nor forsakes us, will never pass
away, and will be with us through thick and thin in all eternity no matter
what.
My own father was the “song leader” in the church of
my childhood in the 1950s to early 1970s. He would have been called the worship
leader in today’s terms. I have precious memories of so many of the hymnals he
led from the pulpit for our congregation. One such hymnal speaks to me today,
Father’s Day: “Lead Me Gently Home, Father” by Will L. Thompson.
1. Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home,
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If thou’lt only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.
2.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home,
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wandering,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
How comforting to know that our Heavenly Father will
gently lead us home. He guides us through His word to get us there. God is our
example of love and compassion and will empower us with the Holy Spirit to live
in such a way that others may see Christ living in us.
Today, as we celebrate fathers, husbands who are fathers, step-fathers, foster
fathers, grandfathers, and all the special men in our lives who have mentored
and loved on us, let’s especially remember the blessings from our Heavenly
Father who has prepared our eternal home with Him.
***For the hymnal, I researched it on Hymnary.org and there is not a problem with copyright as it is in the public domain and the composer has been deceased for more than a hundred years.
Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal and award-winning multi-genre author. She has been published in Guideposts, The Country Register, and Christian Devotions Ministry. Her children’s picture books are the recipients of the 2020 Excellence in Editing award as well as the Purple Dragonfly award in 2020 and 2021. She and her husband make their home close to Colorado Springs where she enjoys gardening, hiking, oil painting, power walking, and spending time with her family, especially reading books to her grandchildren.
Becky is the author of Unintended Hero, a true
story about her father’s battles, experiences, and adventures in WWII aboard
the USS Denver. She is passionate about sharing the values from the
Greatest Generation and enjoys speaking to high school classes about
patriotism.
A member of ACFW, Allauthor, and Pikes Peak Writers, Becky
has devoted her website to creating and preserving family memories and sharing
family stories for the next generations through her monthly blogs. You can find
her at: https://beckyvanvleet.com.
She would love to hear from you, especially if you have a family story to share!
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