“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” Romans 8:14-17

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,” Psalm 68:5-6

We are so thankful for you and the story of how our Heavenly Father, our Abba (which translates as a trusting, loving, close relationship in a way that a child would call their father, “Daddy”) Dad is working in and through your life. In the loss of our earthly dads, we pray that each of you can see the truth of the verses shared above, the truth of Who God is throughout the Bible and how you have seen Him show up in your lives as your Dad. You are not less than, you are not without, you are not anything the enemy or the statistics want you to believe. You are loved, you are known, you are seen, you are provided for, and “His divine power has given [you] everything [you] need for a godly life through [y]our knowledge of Him who called [you] by His own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3) You are a daughter of the King, and as you continue to seek Him, you will always find Him (Jeremiah 29:13) and we know “those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10).

You are one of so many of our Girl Talk girls who have lost your dad, and we are so sorry you join us, but we are so thankful we can walk together in this unfortunate “club” in which none of us would choose to be and know God uses all things together for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28). Because of the growing number of Girl Talk girls whose dads have passed away, the Lord put it on our hearts in the fall of 2024 to start a scholarship fund for those whose fathers’ deaths have left them financially unable to pursue educational goals for the calling the Lord has placed on their lives. While this does not include all of us, whether through already having completed college or other situations, The DAUGHTERS Collective and The DAUGHTERS Golf Tournament were both created for all of us to walk together and with other girls through this common loss in all of our lives as we look to God, our Father, as our perfect Sustainer, as we have learned to do ourselves. And we pray to be part, whether through The DAUGHTERS Collective, The DAUGHTERS Scholarship Fund or both, of showing you God as your Provider for all He has for your lives, just as we have experienced Him do in our own lives.

The DAUGHTERS First Annual Golf Tournament will be Monday, June 15 at Pursell Farms. We would love to have you there!

In planning for The DAUGHTERS Golf Tournament, we would love to share your story at whatever age or stage you are (post grad, in college, in high school or younger) and even if you cannot be there this year, you are part of The DAUGHTERS Collective, and the role the loss of our dads plays in all of our lives matters. Leading up to the tournament, we will be posting stories on social media and sharing stories with sponsors, teams and volunteers, but we will not be sharing names or pictures online. At the tournament, we would like to feature stories at all 18 holes of the golf course and throughout the tournament with any pictures you would like to share. Please share as much as you want, and leave any questions blank if you are not ready to answer them or do not want to share them. If there are things you want to share with us for context but do not want them shared publicly online or at the tournament, please let us know. As well as if you do not want your name or picture shared with your story at the tournament. If you have any questions about this or want to talk more about how you want your story shared, we would absolutely love to talk about it with you.

We are all on a journey, no matter how long ago or how recent the loss has been, losing your dad is a loss that continues through different firsts that come, seasons and times throughout your life. We are praying for you. We are always here for you, and whether you can join us at The DAUGHTERS Golf Tournament this year or not, you are part of this with us and your story matters. You are not alone.