“Wait, so you won’t ever celebrate Father’s Day?”

You can not imagine the emotions I felt when someone said this to me regarding when Ry and I decide to have kiddos of our own. I mean, l will state the obvious, when you marry a girl, there is no “father.” But is that a bad thing? What about those who never grew up with a dad? Does that mean they are any less of a person because they didn’t look up to a man? What about those whose dad died when they were young? Are they going to suffer in life because they had no one to call “daddy?”

What about those who have a dad, but they either can not provide or care for their child? Are those kids in charge of celebrating “Father’s Day?” Is the fact that kids with two moms “can not celebrate Father’s Day” such a huge thing? What about those with two dads and Mother’s Day? Are they any less of parents because they don’t bring breakfast to mom in bed on Mother’s Day?

Ask any parent. Parenting is a task filled with great joy. It can also be a task filled with great pain. After all, parents care deeply for their children. They want to run ahead of their children and anticipate problems. But parents have limited resources to control the future. They cannot save their children from the pain of tragedy or bad mistakes. Human parents have limited ability to bring good out of every road their children might take.

In the care of ordinary families, I see a reflection of the providential care of the heavenly Father. Providence literally means “to see ahead.” Unlike ordinary parents, our divine Father has perfect vision concerning the future.

After all, history itself is in God’s hands. That doesn’t mean he always saves us from foolish mistakes or painful tragedies. But it does mean that when our lives are caught up in the life of Christ, he guides us in ways that bring us ultimate blessing. In the words of Joseph to his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20).

Here’s the thing. Riley and I deciding that we want to bring life into the world has nothing to do with us providing a father or mother figure. All that matters is that we raise him/her healthy and longing to serve the real Heavenly Father that created him/her. THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS. And to those who believe differently than us and disagree on raising up children in a same sex marriage, THAT IS OK! Everyone has different beliefs and values that we may not agree with, and it is not the end of the world because of it. We respect everyone who thinks or believes differently. Why? We are all humans! We all have different emotions and hearts and minds and who are we to make everyone think the same way? We can't. That’s just that.