I Have Three Dads


I have three dads. No, not under the same roof, but all with the same name, Father. I have a biological father. He is part of my chemical makeup. I see him when I look in the mirror or at my older brother. I see him in my childhood. He left when I was a young girl. I have not seen him in over 25 years.

I have an earthly father. This man walked into my life like a guardian angel. He swooped up a broken child and taught her to have confidence, kindness and compassion. He was present. When I think of patience and love, this man is the example. With no reason but love, he chose to adopt me, give me his name and become my father. He filled the role the best he knew how and still loves me today. I’m adopted by my earthly father and I call him by name, Dad. He killed the spiders, went to my volleyball games, paid for private school, gave me the wedding of my dreams, helped me through college and told me I could do anything with the help of a different father – a heavenly kind.

I have a Heavenly Father. He knew me before I was formed. He knew I would have two fathers in this world. He gives me extra love and care when I cannot understand the reasons why. He cradles the pieces of my heart so tenderly. He knows when I’m fragile and He sees the tender scars. He has the power to heal and restore. It’s pretty amazing. He sent His own son to die for me. He gave me the choice to love Him or abandon Him. I chose Him because He chose me. He speaks peace into my soul when I don’t know where to turn. He gives calm assurance when I’m feeling insecure. He gives perfect peace when I don’t know what to do.

I used to cry on Father’s Day because of past pain. Now, I cry because I realize I am so blessed. I love all my father’s and yes it’s complicated, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What about you? Father’s Day can be tough for a lot of people. As you see other people’s pictures and posts about their dads and how great they are, I hope you will honor one of your fathers too. If you don’t have someone on this earth to honor, I hope you’ll honor our Heavenly Father who gave His own son for our sin. His love is greater than anything on this earth. His power is stronger. His name is above every name.

If Father’s Day is difficult for you, don’t think about what could have been, what was, or what you think should have been, but rather give honor and praise to the amazing Heavenly Father that is deserving of all glory, honor and praise!

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150

Happy Father’s Day!

Love & Blessings,

Micah

P.S. For the Dads who stepped in and biblically fathered children who aren’t theirs by birth, I want to say an extra special thank you! There’s no way to repay you for your act of compassion and love. You’ve changed Father’s Day forever for people just like me. My earthly father is one of the kindest, most compassionate men I’ve ever known. Thanks for stepping into my life, Dad. I love you.

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About Micah Maddox

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  1. Micah, My favorite part of this post was the line “it’s complicated.” Yes to that! What a wonderful tribute to your three Dads! I’m glad you’ve reached a point where they all hold a special place in your heart.

  2. Fathers day can be tough for people. It is great that you acknowledge this point. I loved visiting you today Micah. I pray God blesses you in all your ways. I am visiting you from What Joy is Mine.

  3. Thank you for this reminder that my heavenly Father is my true Father, the one I can to to for comfort and strength and Someone who will protect me. Like a true father would. I needed to hear that. Be blessed Micah!

  4. That is a sweet story and a commendable tribute to not only your father that adopted and raised you but also to our Father God and all the other Fathers out there. It’s not easy being a parent but fathers have different concerns added to them being the head of the household – those are big shoes to fill. I’m right there with you girl, hoping all fathers enjoy a Happy Father’s Day. I’ll be celebrating with my Heavenly Father. :) God bless and keep you safe in His arms!

  5. Hi Micah! Found you from Compel, and wanted to encourage the encourager! Somewhere between the swooping you up and killing the spiders I cracked. What a precious tribute to your earthly adoptive father! And the Joel Mullin’s video on your fb page is priceless! Praying you will be encouraged and refreshed today! Press on. Write on! :)

  6. Micah, what a powerful post! I had to pin it on my Mondays @ Soul Survival Board and again under “encouragement.” Thanks so much for linking up @ Soul Survival. I hope you’ll link up again.

    Blessings!

    1. Donna, thank you so much! I found you through a friend of mine Susan Mead. I look forward to linking up more in the future! Hope you have a great day!

  7. I’m inspired by your positive attitude and by the way you allowed God’s grace to cover your pain and replace it with gratitude. May we all count our blessings and fix our eyes on our perfect Father this weekend. Thanks for this beautiful message.

    1. Thank you, Karen! It’s not always easy to stay positive, but my Heavenly Father constantly encourages! Fixing my eyes on Him!

  8. This is beautiful! I love the idea that being a father means so much more than just sharing genes. Thanks for sharing this sweet and vulnerable post! #RaRaLinkup

  9. What a beautiful way to look at the situation! Thank you for sharing. Your words touched me. So glad I’ve found this community of Christian women online!

  10. Micah, your story reminds me of Romans 8:28…that God uses all things together for good, even our relationships. I’m so thankful that He turned Father’s Day around for good in your life. :-) Blessings to you!

  11. I have the exact same testimony. Biological father left when I was an infant so I have a dad that adopted me as a toddler. It’s a great testimony of God’a faithfulness. Blessed to be visiting from #RaRaLinkup.

  12. Touching, hopeful, kind and compassionate post. Beautiful, Micah. I wrote about my father today too. I’m parked next to you in #37 over at Holley’s today!

  13. Micah your honest thoughts about your three dads is such a ministry. There are so many women with less than ideal circumstances surrounding their birth fathers. Awesome job writing about this on your blog!

  14. I love how you said it is complicated. I think by the time we are adults, most relationships are complicated. We don’t have the blind trust we may have had as kids.
    But we can always trust God!

  15. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 14. It was the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life. I am so thankful though that he was such a great dad and example. He loved the Lord and I can’t wait to see him again. Since my dads death I have drawn closer to the Lord and he has truly shown himself to be my father. He has healed my heart and given more than I could ever have imagined. I am so blessed to have 2 fathers:) thanks for sharing! Linking up with you at faith and fellowship:)

    1. Rebekah, wow. I’m so sorry. You know pain that many cannot fathom. I’m so thankful you have found healing in our Heavenly Father! Love & Blessings this Father’s Day! Thank you for sharing your story with me!

  16. Thank you so much for this post Micah. While I have been blessed to grow up with one earthly father … the best father in the world … I can not but help see other children who don’t have father’s. It breaks my heart and I hope and pray they will turn to their Heavenly Father as well. This was truly a beautiful post and tribute … thanks again for sharing. ~Sarah (visiting from Radical Femininity)

  17. I also have three dads. My bio dad passed away and was a stranger who looked a lot like me (or I looked a lot like him). My dad who raised me and we look nothing alike, but I have his laugh and work ethic. And then there’s my beautiful Heavenly Father — oh word, I love and appreciate this Abba Father in my heart and life. I love this post, Miccah. It’s beautiful.

  18. What a beautiful story, Micah. How blessed your “Dad” is to have you in his life, and vice versa. It’s definitely opportunity to praise our heavenly Father. Visiting today via #livefreeThursday

  19. I come from a his, hers, and ours family. I am the ours part of the equation, but my parents treated us all with the same level of love and grace. I am so grateful for the childhood I had, the love I received, and the family the Lord placed me in.

  20. God is so great! He always provides us with what we need even when we dont know we need it. My situation is sorta reversed. My father is great but it is my mother that hasn’t always been there and when she is she is only looking out for herself. BUT…….Even though I didn’t realize it was what I needed until I was grown God provided me with an AMAZING step mother and a pretty amazing mother in law. Both of which have been 100 times better at “mothering” then my actual mother ever was. So even though my situation isn’t exactly the same, I can relate. God is so great and always provides us with what we need!!!!

    1. Wow! Thanks for sharing your story, Jayna! Yes, God always provides. Sometimes it’s not in the way we think or imagine, but He is faithful!

  21. Hi Micah!

    I found you today through the Titus 2 Tuesdays linkup over at Cornerstone Confessions. I have no idea what post you were featured for. When I got to your site, this post rang true to me so I decided to read it instead. :o)

    You have such a lovely blog. I’ve enjoyed searching around and getting to know you a bit better. Such lovely pictures on your “About” page.

    I love what you’ve shared here. While I have only had one earthly (& good) father, I was a teen mom, so my oldest daughter has had two fathers. And blending for us was hard for us, a bit different from what you’ve described above. But thankfully, by God’s grace, now that my daughter is an adult things are way better between her and her earthly father. :o)

    Blessings to you (and please keep going in your journey to encourage and inspire others – the love of the Lord is all over this website!),

    Tiffiney
    WelcomeHomeMinistry.com

    1. Tiffany! You’re sweet words are priceless to me! Thank you for stopping by and for taking a look around! I love your story and I appreciate you sharing it with me! It so nice to meet you!! Love & blessings girl!

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