The world can be a dark, cold place for children whose fathers neglect and abuse them. Max was six years old when he was first taken away from his parents by Child Protective Services. I’m using the word “parents” here loosely as a misnomer of praise to the two selfish people who carelessly brought a baby into the world. His mother had become a heroin addict and his father was a violent felon who was in and out of prison. Many times while Max was growing up he would be left alone in the family’s roach infested slum apartment, sometimes for days at a time.
On Father’s Day, Max awoke to another empty house. His mother was junked up, high, nodding off in a neighborhood drug house several blocks away. Max had been alone now for two days and there was only a can of soda left in the refrigerator, two heels of bread in a plastic bag and a handful of potatoes that were growing leaves in the pantry. Max was in the dark this June morning as the gas and electric had been shut off weeks ago, unpaid bills were scattered over the kitchen floor.
After seven years of incarceration, this Father’s Day was the day Max’s father was scheduled to be released from prison. What should have been a joyous reunion soon turned into a nightmare as Max’s father drunk with anger began harassing his son he barely knew. After downing several shots of Black Velvet, his father began chasing Max around the house. For some reason he began taking pot shots at him with a small caliber pistol. Max jumped, dodged and ran around the back yard like a rabbit in a shooting gallery. Miraculously, Max was able to evade his father’s aim long enough for police to arrive and take his father back into custody.
Max was put into a foster home in the country for boys. One of the ranch workers picked him up at the bus stop in an old wooden wagon. The wagon creaked and groaned as he got in and his hair blew back over his face as the mild June air rolled over him in waves. The only sounds that could be heard were the horse’s forceful snorts and the bells that were tied around their feathery hoofs. The wagon rolled effortlessly through the wheat fields as the Clydesdales galloped back towards the safety of the barn where there was always plenty of oats and hay to devour.
Camp was beautiful this time of year with all the fruit trees around the circular drive now in full bloom. As the wagon pulled up to a stop, other horses poked their heads out of their stalls welcoming Max to their wonderful home. The donkeys too, looking ragged with a patchwork of fuzz, stumbled out to greet their new visitor.
As soon as Max was settled in, the ranch manager Joshua, a nice looking man from Israel, asked Max if he’d like to help him feed the horses. Joshua pitched a pile of hay into the stalls as Max leaned over the cedar railed fence to watch the horses pulled them apart. Max felt peaceful and calm for the first time in his life.
Just as Joshua put his pitchfork down, Roxy one of the donkeys, leaned her head over the fence and began muzzling the side of Max’s head. Max was startled by the donkey’s hairy face that was scratchy and wet with saliva. Joshua reassured him that Roxy was only showing him that she loved him and her appreciation for the food. At that moment, something snapped inside of Max and he felt an unusual warm sensation in his heart as his faced blushed and his eyes filled with tears. It was on that Father’s Day that our Heavenly Father used a plain old donkey to show a neglected, abused boy what love was all about.
This world is filled with pain, suffering and uncertainty. We all would love a life of ease where the only decision we have is what to eat for breakfast. Instead, our lives are filled with trials and tribulation just like Max’s life. He certainly didn’t deserve the life he got but through all the turmoil God was able to get His message of love to him through a donkey.
Maybe you are not close to your father and had a childhood similar to Max’s? It’s possible you never knew your own father and now Father’s Day is another holiday to struggle with? In that case know that you have a Father in heaven that loves you and will never forsake you. Ask Him to reveal Himself and you may just get a kiss from heaven like Max did.
