Photo and Commentary ©2026 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, June 21, 2026
It’s Father’s Day – a big Thank You to each father who reads these words! The older I become, the more I realize how life is all about relationships, and good relationships require a lot from you. I wish I could thank my father one more time for all he did for his family, and especially for me.
But I think he knew he was loved.
It isn’t always easy to know that, especially in the beginning stages of a romantic relationship. That’s where these daisies come in! Did you ever consult a daisy by chanting, “He loves me, he loves me not” as you plucked petals one at a time, holding your breath to see if your last petal coincided with the words, “He loves me,” or, “He loves me not”?
If the answer was not to your liking, and another flower was nearby, you could also try again. In the case of the plentiful daisies in my photo, you could try until you landed on your desired answer. But I don’t think that would be in the spirit of the exercise.
This reminds me of my father. Yes, I’m sure he knew we loved him, and yes, I knew he loved me. However . . .
My father greatly preferred me to get straight A’s and also a perfect attendance record. I remember how he objected to me staying home from school when I was sick, but my registered nurse mother always won that discussion. My favorite memory of those occasions was that partway through the morning my father would always make a brief stop at home. He would give me a bottle of ginger ale and a new jigsaw puzzle to entertain me during the sick day that he had fought against, knowing it would spoil my chance at that perfect attendance record!
One year – I think it was either second or third grade – my teacher gave me a B in Citizenship. She even called me up to her desk to explain why she did that; she said it was because sometimes I would cry in class. Not very often, but I was a shy child, and easily embarrassed. (Looking back on this now, I wonder why she never asked me what was wrong when I cried, instead of just marking me down as a lesser citizen. Sob.)
You can imagine what I wanted to do when I returned to my desk with that report card clutched in my hands, but I held back my tears. When I got home that afternoon, I took the report card and threw it up high on the top shelf of my bedroom wardrobe, so no one could see my shameful citizenship grade.
I knew my father loved me . . . but it seemed he would love me more if I could excel at everything, and didn’t make any mistakes. I tried so hard to measure up, but perfection was elusive.
And yes, this reminds me of my Heavenly Father. I remember the first time I read that there was nothing you could do to make God love you more, and nothing you could do to make Him love you less. I had to stop and think that over. Was this true? Or was this just wishful thinking?
It certainly didn’t seem true of earthly fathers. Behavior mattered. Could my Heavenly Father love me with a different kind of love? Unearned, unquestioned, unconditional?
How does the Bible record read?
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (I John 3:1a NIV)
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:9-10)
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:26)
I do give thanks to my Heavenly Father, for His great and lavish love. I thank Him, too, for my earthly father. He was not a perfect parent, and I was not a perfect daughter, but our bond of love endures forever.