Fatherless Epidemic

Years ago, Marci and I were camp counselors for a ministry that would take at-risk youth camping in Bear Valley, California. The goal was simply to show them the love of Jesus. Many of the kids had absent fathers and were causing trouble at school.

For a week, I shared a tent with four precious 10-11 year old boys. We hiked, canoed, white-water rafted and had the time of our lives!

Quincy was in my tent the first year I was a counselor. During our week together, he told me he wished I was his father. As I dropped him off at his home after camp, I wept, knowing the kind of life he was returning to.

Quincy was one of thousands affected by the fatherless epidemic.

A child raised without a father is five times more likely to commit crime, nine-times more likely to drop out of school, and twenty times more likely to end up in jail or prison.

We all need to be loved, cherished, and protected by a dad. Ideally, an earthly father will meet those needs. Tragically, many children never experience that kind of love. They walk through life feeling lonely and worthless.

The good news is Jesus came to show us the Father’s love. A love so deep that it heals our hurts and gives us a secure identity. I’m close friends with men who grew up fatherless, but now, because of Christ, have found the perfect Father. They know they are loved.

I wish I knew where Quincy is today. He’s probably 45 and maybe has children of his own. I can only hope and pray the love of the Father he experienced in the summer of 1990 made a difference in his life.

It did for me!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.” Psalms‬ ‭68‬:‭5‬-‭6‬

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