*SHALOM* *NIGHT DOSE* *👑 FATHERS, WALK TALL - A SERIES FOR GRACIOUS DADS — PART 5* *🎈THE FATHER’S OWN WOUNDS, WHAT HE NEVER SAYS, BUT STILL CARRIES.* 🧔🏾‍♂️ Gracious Dad… We See You. But More Importantly, God Sees You. You carry more than keys, wallets, or responsibilities. You carry Wounds, Invisible to the eye, but heavy to the soul. Wounds from childhood. From rejection. From failure. Wounds from words that scarred, dreams that died, and silent battles you were never allowed to cry about. 💬 “Be strong,” they told you. So you became silent. 💬 “Men don’t cry,” they said. So you buried your pain. 💬 “Just provide,” they preached. But no one asked how your heart was holding up. You became protector, provider, pillar but never patient. You gave strength while yours was leaking slowly from inside. You’ve been bleeding in places no one noticed or knew how to treat. 📖 “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He was wounded for our transgressions.” — (Isaiah 53:4–5) Jesus understands. He too was misunderstood. Abandoned. Mocked. Wounded. But He didn’t hide from the pain. He carried it to the Father. 🛑 Today, Gracious Dad, Pause. You’ve been fathering while fatigued. You’ve been smiling while silently suffocating. You’ve poured into others with no one pouring into you. It’s okay to admit: “I’m not okay.” It’s holy to say: “I need healing.” You are not weak for needing help. You are wise for seeking the Father’s touch. *🎯 Some Wounds Fathers Carry,* Not being affirmed by your own dad Failing in something you deeply wanted to succeed in. Watching your family suffer and feeling helpless. Hurting your loved ones with words or silence. Losing someone and never having space to grieve. And yet, you still showed up. That is not failure. That is sacred resilience. 📖 “Cast your burdens on the Lord, and He will sustain you.” — Psalm 55:22 He won’t shame your pain. He won’t compare it. He won’t rush your healing. 💬 “A bleeding father still trying to bless his family is a man God will never forsake.” “You are not defined by what hurt you, but by the God who heals you.” “You don't have to be whole to be used. You just have to be honest.” *🌿 Let This Be a Turning Point* Let your sons and daughters learn this from you, That real men don’t hide pain. They heal it. That courage is found in confession. That strength is found in surrender. That healing is found in God the Father’s embrace. 📌 Therefore dear father, Don’t just carry your wounds. Bring them to the Wounded Healer. He still says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” — (Matthew 11:28) You are seen. You are loved. You are not forgotten. *🛐Father of the Wounded, Heal the Hearts of Our Fathers* Eternal and Compassionate Father, You who see in secret, who understand the weight behind a father’s silence and the ache hidden beneath his strength, we lift before You today the men who are called “Dad” not just for their role, but for their burden. You know the wounds they carry wounds from fathers who never blessed them, from failures that haunt them, from sacrifices never acknowledged, and from the pressure to always be strong when they feel empty inside. You see the father who lies awake at night, not from fear, but from the weight of unseen battles. You see the one who jokes to hide his pain, who works longer so he doesn’t have to feel, who smiles to keep his home steady, while his soul quietly cries out for rest. Lord, today we do not ask for perfect fathers. We ask for healed ones. Fathers who know they are sons too sons who are held, forgiven, and restored by You. Break the lie that says “real men don’t feel.” Remind them that even Your Son wept. Even Christ, the Lion of Judah, knelt in Gethsemane. So let every father know: tears are not weakness, they are prayer in liquid form. Heal their memories. Renew their minds. Restore their hearts. Let their strength rise again, not from pretending, but from the deep peace that comes from being seen and loved by You. May every scar become a testimony. May every burden become a bridge of compassion. And may their healing overflow into their homes, so that their sons and daughters will inherit not wounds, but wisdom. Give them safe spaces. Give them faithful brothers. Give them time to breathe, and permission to rest. And when they pray, O God, hear them not as soldiers trying to survive, but as sons returning home to their Father. Grant this, Almighty God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. *✨Enjoy a gracious night and a restful sleep - Cheers*