A young father shared with me recently that he just didn’t know how to trust God. He and his wife had divorced and he didn’t trust the parenting the kids received while with her. When he said this I was reminded of my own experience 42 years ago when my oldest two were only 2 & 4 years of age. My wife left me and moved the day of the divorce and I didn’t even know they were moving. She and my two kids were someplace and I had no idea where. I remember going to the church that night after school and bared my soul before God weeping and pleading for Him to protect my kids. I knew I had to surrender them to Him, but where were they?

I shared with the young father this story and told him that 42 years later these two little kids are now 44 & 46. Both are serving God diligently and thank me for being a stable father throughout their lives. God had not abandoned my kids or me and He certainly hasn’t abandoned him or his own kids. He began to cry and we prayed together.

This morning as I had my devotions I was nudged to contact this young father with a note of encouragement. I remembered those who reached out to me so many years ago and I needed to do the same for him. Encouragement is a tremendous antibiotic for a hurting soul.