he loves us

You want your dad to love but you, but he’s got issues. You see other dads loving their daughters, and it hurts your heart. Today Laura Polk shares her #livefree story.

I love this amazing woman and her heart for single moms. She lives what she teaches, and when you know that something special lives inside this brave, funny, real woman. Meet Laura Polk, a Daddy’s girl. ~ Suzie

 

I’m a Daddy’s Girl

It’s never what you expect to happen to you as a little girl.

A daddy is supposed to love his children unconditionally, right? It’s innate. A part of being a parent.

We love our children so outrageously that we didn’t even know that kind of love existed in our hearts until they came to be.

Except when the love doesn’t come.

I can’t tell you the precise moment I realized that my father didn’t love me, but I can tell you that I struggled for 26 years trying to be good enough to change whatever was wrong with me. It was a never-ending battle.

Hoping I would be smart enough, or funny enough, or maybe even cute enough to not only garner his attention, but his love.

His actual love.

To hear an “I love you” or an “I’m so proud of you” or even an “I’ll always be there for you.” But the words never came. Neither did the feelings behind them as I suffered for years under his scrutiny, and disappointment, and public shuns. Until finally, a day came when he made the break I knew he’d been wanting to make since day one.

laurapolk
He disowned me.

You see, after my parent’s divorce, I grew very close to my stepfather. He was a loving man. An accepting man. A man who treated me as his very own. So, when I became engaged, I wanted both my stepfather and my father to walk me down the aisle.

When I told my father this over a lunch, the screaming began.

I’ll never forgive you.

You are no longer my daughter.

You’ll regret this for the rest of your life.

As every single eye in the restaurant turned to look at me, I could only imagine what they thought I’d done.

Months later he made it official, when not only he didn’t show up for my wedding, but neither did another person from his side of the family. Not one. The same side I’d spent every holiday with, every celebration, every summer break. Half of the people I’d loved my entire life—gone in an instant.

Years later, as I searched for something more, I discovered I had another father I never knew about.

My Heavenly Father found me lovely and precious and cherished me as if I was his only daughter.

He began working on the open wound my earthly father had crafted for years, and healed me completely by simply loving me.

Just loving me.

So, I’m kind of a Daddy’s Girl now.

I love talking to Him for advice. He tells me He loves me on a daily basis and He’s proud of the life I’ve built. And he’s made sure to let me know that he will never leave me.

He can’t—His heart won’t let him.

Because I’m a beloved daughter of the King.

Laura

To connect with Laura, check out her blog where she takes this topic even deeper. I hope you’ll take a look at her blog. She’s a pretty amazing new friend.