Although I felt favored by Dad above all of my siblings, I was not the favored one. Dad loved everyone of his offspring. 

Though I thought I was not the only one who got to sit on his lap on the front porch swing, I was not. He gave his one-to-one attention to all my siblings, not singling any of us out, but instead, loving each of us specifically for who we were.

Equality

With Mom, I was one of seven, but with Dad, I was one of a kind. He knew me and in his presence, I felt known. 

Dad understood my fragility and my fears. His gentleness made me feel at ease. His acceptance assured me of his love. 

When I was thirteen, he broke the news to me that he had to go away to a hospital to get well. He assured me that his departure did not mean I was no longer special to him. He said that to him, I would always be unique and when I grew up, I’d accomplish something remarkable. 

At the time, it was hard to believe that I’d ever grow up let alone, do anything remarkable. But Dad had been right. I grew up and the remarkable thing I did was to write a book about my heart’s journey to forgiving him for ending his life by suicide.

Even though my life with Dad was a brief thirteen years, it was enough to give me a taste of just how special a  father’s love can make a daughter feel. 

Though I was one of seven, I felt significant. Though one of seven, I was made to feel like a distinct individual. I knew Dad loved me because I was the one and only one like me. 

My brothers and sisters were equally loved by my father as well because of their distinctness. The eldest was not loved any more or any less than the rest of us. The boys were not loved more than the girls and the girls were not loved any more than the boys. 

A father’s love cannot be measured. It can only be received and accepted by his children when they choose to believe in their father’s love for them. 

God loves encompasses all humanity, but we experience and receive his love on an individual basis when we believe and accept his love for us. We may be one in a billion, but to God, we are one of a kind.

Why bother knowing we are special? God invites all those who are weary to come to him. But only those who accept God’s offer will understand just how significant they are to their Father.