To My Step-Dad on Father’s Day

I didn’t welcome you with open arms. I was a college student going through my own ups and downs, still stinging from a broken home that had come shattering down my senior year of high school. I wanted nothing more than for my mom to be happy considering all she had been through with my dad. Yet, when she met you, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of jealousy. To me, it felt too fast and it overwhelmed me.

You did welcome me with open arms. I saw the love that you and my mom shared for each other and it slowly started to chip away my negative feelings. Not without tough moments caused mainly by the hurt I was carrying from a situation you had nothing to do with. But when I saw my mom with you and how happy you made her, it outweighed everything.

It’s been 15 years since you married my mom. We have all come a long way since then. For me, it was healing and growing up. For you, it has been something that you have done day in and day out. You have loved my mom. You have loved my brother and I. Even with drama-filled moments, and times of being tested by me, you have stuck with us and by us.

You have gone above and beyond what many parents would do for their own kids let alone their step kids. I think that’s because you see me as a daughter versus just the daughter of your wife. It is because of your hard work and love that my mom gets to be so involved almost daily in the lives of her four grandkids. It is because of you that we are a family with such a blessed life.

Over fifteen years ago when it felt like you had been rushed into my life, I now realize that couldn’t be less true. My mom had been waiting her whole life for you.

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but
later you will understand.” John 13:7

It was not an easy road to get here. But it sure is a great place to be right now. Thank you for all you do for my mom and our family. Thank your for loving my kids, your grandkids, and for proving that step families are real families – even if they form later in life. Thank you for never trying to be my dad but, instead, being exactly what I need in a step dad.

Happy Father’s Day.