A Letter From My Father

Written By Charlotte Diana, Indonesia

On one of my free days, I decided to clear some of the drawers in my room. As I was sorting through some old letters in one of my drawers, I stumbled on a letter I had not seen in a long while and had clean forgotten about. It was a letter my father had written to me almost 10 years ago.

Despite the length of time that had passed, tears welled up in my eyes as I read through the content of the letter.

10 January 2006

My daughter,

Even before you made your entrance into this world, you managed to make us anxious. None of that anxiety has been forgotten today. It was a beautiful anxiety which stemmed from our love for you.

My daughter, being a parent is a honorable thing. Read the history of the great men in the bible, and you’d discover that the best advice was given by a parent to his child. Nevertheless, know that being a parent is hard work. We are tasked with the responsibility to provide you a home, teach you right values and care for your physical needs. Yet, your presence is one of the loveliest and the proudest things to us.

My daughter, we kissed and embraced you the moment you came into this world. You were the fruit of my love to your mother, the proof that your mother and I are no longer separated by anyone or anything. But as time went by, we learned that you had a mind of your own. You are not mine, nor your mother’s. You are here not because of my love and your mother’s love. You are here because of the Lord. We do not have the right to demand your devotion because it belongs solely to God.

Since that time, all we focused on was to bring you closer to your master. It was our hope that you would always try to fulfill your master’s desires, do everything for Him—not for me or your mother. Our goal was not to make you someone others would admire, but someone loved by God.

My daughter, our most difficult task as parents is being a role model to you of what it means to be close to God. Our desires must first be in accordance with God’s wishes, so that we can show you how to go about this journey. When you complain of tiredness, we are here to strengthen you. We must run with perseverance and with the intention to win the race of life.

One day, you will walk alone when God declares that our task on this world is complete. We hope that all the things you have learned will be enough to sustain you in your journey through life with God.

Finally, my daughter, when all of us come face to face with God, it is our prayer that we will be reunited in heaven. Your presence there will bring us much joy. It means that we as parents have succeeded in our task to return you to your master.

Much love,
Dad

Reading this letter challenged me to live as God’s child and to grow in my knowledge and faith in Him every day. No doubt there will be times when I will struggle to show my respect to them, but I know that deep down, they love and care for me, and I want to do likewise.

After all, as someone has said before, FAMILY means Father And Mother, I Love You.