Over the years, I’ve seen many children who were deserted by their fathers at a young age. All of them were affected by the feelings of rejection, some more than others. I’ve, also, come across many men and women in their adult life still nursing the wounds of growing up without a father.

I experienced such a case this week in Get High on Life’s jail ministry. Being the week of Thanksgiving, I asked if anyone cared to share what they were most thankful for. A big man with dreadlocks who never misses a meeting and still has a year to serve before his release stood up. He approached the podium and shared that his father left them when he was a little boy. He lives in California and for over three years had never heard from him.

“Last week he came to see me,” he said. And with a big smile, he continued, “That’s what I’m most thankful for.”

As he was about to leave the podium, I said, “Stay there a while. I need to ask you a question.” “Did you ever try to hate your father?” I asked. “No,” he answered. “I didn’t try. I hated him for a long time.”

Many in the meeting laughed as though they knew the feeling.

“How was the visit?” I asked. “It was great!” he said. “We had a good meeting.” I then asked, “When you first saw him, did you still have a feeling of hate toward him?” “No,” he answered. “It was just good to see him, and that’s made my Thanksgiving so special.”

As he took his seat, I addressed the others in the meeting and said, “I’ve seen many young boys and girls wasting too much energy trying to hate their fathers. Hating keeps us in bondage to the person and deprives us of enjoying life. Forgiveness, on the other hand, frees us to become the person God created us to be. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the person that offended us but everything to do with our spiritual growth.

If you have any questions or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call (985) 652-8477, or e-mail: hkeller@comcast.net.