Father’s Day 2025 | A Deeply Personal Lament

2:56 a.m.

I woke up feeling betrayed.

3:10 a.m.

I wondered, “Why am I awake?”

I got up and made a cup of coffee. When I plopped down in my usual spot, Rice immediately jumped in my lap to love and be loved.

I sat with my coffee and my feelings. The house stayed dark. I didn’t want to wake Terri.

Betrayal attacks our values—what we believe, not just what we feel in the moment. That’s why betrayal’s wounds cut deep. Betrayal strikes at our core. It cuts into the heart of who we are, slicing into our soul, threatening to destroy who we are. To say betrayal hurts is an understatement of the greatest magnitude.

^47-48 No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a crowd showed up, Judas, the one from the Twelve, in the lead. He came right up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, “Judas, you would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

Luke 22:47-48 The Message

Jesus didn’t pretend betrayal didn’t hurt. Neither should we.

At some point, we’ve got to forgive our betrayers. Not for their sake; but for ours.

Forgiveness isn’t permission. It isn’t amnesia. Forgiveness is not saying what someone did is okay. It’s choosing to keep people’s actions from defining our soul. Their betrayal doesn’t get to determine who we are.

Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me.

Psalm 41:9 NIV

Listen: At some point, I can’t continue to sit in their toxic cesspool. I have to move on. But, moving on takes time. The deepest wounds don’t heal the fastest.

I can forgive without trusting you again.

I can forgive and still set boundaries.

See: Not everyone who gives you a pair of shoes expects you to run, let alone win the race.

Turns out today is Father’s Day and I got daddy issues. Go figure.

Know YOU are loved.

Until my next post…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

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The Stigma Stops Here.🛑

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