Psalm 68:5 — Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
I’m a total daddy’s girl.
And my dad is 82 now.
He’s not perfect…
But he was always there.
When I was little, that looked like getting to go to work with him sometimes. He was a route salesman, so I’d ride along, help stock shelves, and feel like I had an important job right beside him.
Then there was the summer he picked up a side job running the Skee-Ball game at a carnival.
If it wasn’t busy, I got to play for free.
To me, that was everything.
My dad didn’t make a lot of money.
Sometimes that was hard.
But I never questioned whether he’d show up.
Even after I had my own boys, he’d come over after work one night every week. No matter how tired he was, he’d get down on the floor and play with them before we all sat down for dinner.
Looking back, I realize he was building something far more valuable than a paycheck.
He was building memories.
He was building trust.
He was building love.
Now we live in different states, and I miss those evenings more than I can explain.
Because what stays with me isn’t what my dad gave me.
It’s that he gave me himself.
I think a lot of us spend years focusing on what our parents weren’t.
But often, what shapes us most is simply who showed up.
People rarely remember perfection.
They remember presence.
That’s why I love how Psalm 68 describes God.
He is “Father to the fatherless.”
In other words, God’s heart naturally moves toward those who feel forgotten, abandoned, or alone.
The best earthly fathers point us toward our heavenly Father.
And when earthly fathers fall short—or were never there at all—God never does.
He keeps showing up.
Perfectly.
Faithfully.
Lovingly.
So today, thank God for the people who have faithfully shown up in your life.
And if you’re still grieving the absence of someone who never did…
Remember this:
You have never been forgotten by your heavenly Father.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Who has faithfully “shown up” in your life and reflected God’s love to you?
- How does knowing God is the Father to the fatherless bring comfort to places where you’ve experienced loss or disappointment?
- How can you reflect God’s faithful presence by simply showing up for someone else this week?