This article includes snippets from the upcoming book: Christians Don't Have Nervous Breakdowns.

I thought it would make my life better. Maybe I was missing something. Surely there had to be a better life on the ‘other side’ that I never had the privilege to know anything about. But even at the age of 30, I stand before you (in the form of this written word) still missing some important pieces to this puzzle called life.

            That main missing piece to the puzzle is my father. I was no different than hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who longed and searched for a biological parent they have never met. I often watched the daily television talk shows where hosts would pay for families to be reunited, whether it was with a father, mother or other siblings. That gave me hope that I too could one day appear on a talk show and from behind the curtain or down the steps would come a man who gave me life, but chose not to be a part of it for whatever reason. My TV debut never came, of course.  Growing up, I was fortunate enough to have many father figures who attempted to fill the void. Even though my biological father wasn’t there physically, there still was no need that went unmet.

I think I gave the word ‘dad’ a new meaning when I began to use it for everyone in my life that treated me like I was their own. There were dads who gave me extravagant birthday gifts. There were dads who made Christmas extra special by showering me with gifts such as the new pair of purple Patrick Ewing gym shoes and the original Nintendo. There was a dad that helped pay my tuition to a Catholic elementary school so that I could have a better education than that of the Chicago public school system. There was a dad who sent me money to match what I had saved towards the purchase of my first car. There was a dad who helped move me to Missouri to attend college. There was a dad that secretly gave me money when I didn’t want to ask my mother for it. There was a dad that made sure I got to high school every morning. And that same dad was there to cheer me on in my track and cross country meets when my mom couldn’t make them. There was even a dad who took the time to chastise me with a cutting board for skipping school. And I couldn’t say ‘You ain’t my daddy’ because at that time, he was.

            Jeremiah 1:5 says before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you. That tells me that God already knew I would grow up without a biological father, so he had already put some spiritual fathers in place to help me along the way. God had already prepared me for success before I was born, regardless of circumstances that tried to break me down in life. God had already made me an honor roll student. He knew I would graduate at the top of my high school class. He knew I would graduate with a Bachelor of Journalism as well as a Master of Marketing. It was during my church’s 2008 consecration and rededication services that I stopped chasing a father that hadn’t been there for 30 years, and I began to be thankful for a Father that had been there every step of the way. I don’t know your personal situation, but God does. Maybe you had your father and your mother wasn’t there. Or maybe you had both of your parents, but lacked a grandparent or an aunt or uncle. I encourage you to honor those who God has placed in your life to fill that void. They may not have the same blood running through their veins as you do, but they are part of the Blood of Jesus Christ. Many have been a father to this fatherless child; but there is only one Father who was there in the beginning and is guaranteed to be with me at the end—Jesus Christ. I pray that you realize that where you thought you were missing something, you’ll find you really didn’t miss a thing.       

Mrs. Tenita C. Johnson

CEO, So It Is Written LLC.

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