While my daughter was going through college, I wrote her letters each day for guidance, encouragement and connection. These letters, of course, came straight from the heart.
They display the love of a father for a child. Unbeknownst to me, she shared these letters with some of her classmates. What she found was the words of a loving father helped them feel encouragement and love as well.
With my daughter’s permission, I am sharing these words of love, encouragement and guidance with you so that you too may be affected and take them as words meant for you, because you are a child of God who is worthy of praise, love and encouragement. So, read over these two letters and apply them to your own situation:
My Daughter,
I saw the most amazing sunrise. Reminds me each day that we get a fresh start. I hope you are enjoying your fresh start today as well.
That leads me into a very important topic, and that is forgiveness. I know you haven’t made really big mistakes because you generally follow God’s Word and have real wisdom. However, we all make mistakes.
Know always God has already forgiven you. It’s important to acknowledge our sin, but He forgave you of sins, all sins, so trust in His forgiveness and respond with gratitude and responsibility.
The more difficult thing to do is forgive ourselves. So many of my clients haven’t forgiven themselves for things they did decades ago. Whether you look in a mirror or sit in an empty chair, it’s really good to verbally say “I forgive you” to yourself. I find that those who sin less are sometimes harder on themselves when they actually do sin. If there is anything up to this point, take action and forgive yourself. If not, keep this in your mental pocket and apply when needed.
Love you much,
Dad
—
My Daughter,
Happy Sunday! I hope your heart is alive with His. He is risen. He has conquered death, the grave and hell. He is victor of the earth and the heavens. He is, and therefore you and I can rejoice.
I was reading a psalm earlier this week, and it said to sing unto the Lord. I know we all go to church and sing, but I don’t know if you have ever just sung unto the Lord.
I do this in the shower, in my car, when I’m alone. I love doing this at night in our driveway when the stars are out. I love singing new songs to Him as well. He is so worthy of our worship and songs.
Sometimes I just sing a song from the radio or a worship song of some kind. I really encourage you to do this at times. You’ll feel God’s presence all over you. You can gain new insights as you sing to Him.
I know He likes this. I think it’s like a sing-o-gram to God. So, I hope today you can find a spot somewhere and try this way of worshipping our God!
Love you much,
Dad
—
Thank you for taking the time to immerse yourself in these words from a father to his child. As you can see, they are packed with love and wisdom that I wish to pass on to my children.
Furthermore, I hope you take these words and apply them to your own life. Use these words to hear God’s voice, draw closer to Him and see yourself as the incredible child of God you are.
Doug Weiss, Ph.D., is a nationally known author, speaker and licensed psychologist. He is the executive director of Heart to Heart Counseling Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the author of several books, including Letters to my Daughter.You may contact Dr. Weiss via his website, drdougweiss.com or on hisFacebook, by phone at 719-278-3708 or through email at [email protected].
