P is for Pat Gohn! I’m skipping ahead one letter today on my Blogging from A to Z Challenge to host Day 3 of Pat Gohn’s virtual blog tour for her new book now out by Ave Maria Press, Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood. Click here to see who else is hosting stops on this virtual blog tour.
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A few months after my dad passed away, I was hustling through Walgreens to buy a pair of pantyhose. I had to be present at an event about that minute, and of course every last pair of hose I owned had holes in places too obvious to ignore. The neighborhood Walgreens and their it’ll-get-the-job-done brand of hosiery saved me once again. As I hurried to get out of the store, a man approached me from behind and said, “Hey, how are you?” I turned around and the man then replied, “Oh, I thought you were my daughter. You look a lot like her. Sorry to bother you.”
That 30-second exchange with the stranger, some woman’s father, had an immediate impact on me. It hit me then that as long as I walk this earth, I will never again run into my dad by chance at a Walgreens or anywhere else. I will never hear him say, “This is my daughter.” My sense of my identity had changed. A startling realization that still hasn’t left me given I’m writing about it here, nearly four years after my father’s death.
My dad greatly understood his vocational mission to reveal and relive on Earth the very fatherhood of God. He was my gateway to knowing God better. He loved well, giving me a minor taste of the breadth of God the Father’s love for us. I’m immediately reminded of the popular phrase from the Toy Story movies — to infinity and beyond! The love of God the Father is boundless. I don’t struggle to mentally apprehend that with either my heart or head because I received a strong foretaste from my earthly father. It is something I don’t want to ever go without, and I’m motivated daily to reach out for it.
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Pat Gohn’s appreciation of God’s love is a strong theme in her new book Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious. Pat’s ability to comprehend and articulate the love of God the Father is a gift she uses to reveal His love to other women and help us appreciate our common identity as His daughters.
I’m honored to share the following audio segment, “To Be a Beloved Daughter of God,” where Pat talks about the difficulties many women suffer regarding fatherhood in general. She also explores more deeply this idea of God the Father and his limitless love for us. And finally Pat shares one idea for overcoming barriers to truly knowing this in our heads and heart, and that is through entering into the prayers of Jesus that are directed to the Father.
Now it’s time to find a quiet spot in your day, grab a cup of coffee (depending on the hour, a glass of wine works, too!) and spend a few moments listening to Pat reflect on your belovedness. As you listen, reflect on this phrase from the Catechism: “The Lord’s Prayer reveals us to ourselves at the same time that it reveals the Father to us.”
It’s a GIVEAWAY, too! Enter to win your copy of Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious by reflecting on “To Be a Beloved Daughter of God” in the comments below. One winner will be randomly selected to win a copy of Pat’s book on April 27, 2013. Here’s to our belovedness!
Those of us who grew up with an engaged, protective, loving father, are better able to see and appreciate our Father in heaven. This is a gift of grace. For those who never knew an earthly father, or only knew men who betrayed them or abused them…we need to extend special love and care, so that they can understand that they have always had a Father who loves them and never left them. I think journaling and reflection on HIs goodness helps remind me-I AM a beloved daughter!! And I have an obligation to share that with other women (tho, I frequently fail). Thanks for this, Lisa (and Pat!).
I have been without my parents since I was 25 years old. A young mother myself — I was thrust into a different role. It is a lonely world to be among those ‘orphans’. No longer receiving ‘Daughter’ cards. No longer buying Mother’s and Father’s Day cards. Never hearing again, those stories of my childhood. It is a difficult and often awkward place to be. Prior to becoming Catholic, [I converted at age 33] I never really thought of being a Daughter of God. Especially after my loss … I never thought of myself as anyone’s daughter. Not anymore. I was a mother, niece, wife, granddaughter, sister and daughter-in-law. I had daughters–but I was not a daughter. As a mother of 10, I have focused on the my role as a mother nearly every second. It takes up the majority of my thoughts and a huge part of my heart. Helping my husband and daughters to have a strong, healthy relationship as father/daughter also is very important. Lost in all of this? My role as a daughter. I had forgotten. I AM a daughter. I am a daughter of God! It is a very important relationship that has always been there–I just failed to recognize, appreciate and NURTURE it. The one relationship that has never changed or ever failed to be there is the one I forgot about. Lucky for this Daughter of God–HE never forgets. He never turns away. He is the all-loving Father.
Looks like a GREAT book! God Bless Lisa!
Lisa, thank you for sharing this today! It inspired my “F” post for today. :)
Beautiful article.
This book sounds like it could help a lot of us with disappointments in our lives. Hope is a gift from God.
Dear Lisa and Joel,
Thanks so much for the opportunity to share this stop on the blog tour with your readership. I cherish your friendship and bodacious support. Gratefully yours, Pat