The Simple Gospel

By: Brenda Wieneke

As I sit in my Father’s house and look at Him face to face in the Eucharist, my thoughts turn to my earthly father. Psalm 27 rises in my heart: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear?” In this sacred place, I see how much fear the Lord has gently taken from me—fear I carried since childhood. Fear that kept me awake at night. Fear that held me back from becoming who God created me to be.

As I began to let go of those fears, the Lord set me on a path straight to His heart—a path that revealed my belonging to Him. A belonging I have longed for my entire life, and one I now rest in with confidence.

When I reflect on my story, I am always led back to one truth: how near I am to the Father’s heart. That realization fills me with joy. I am overwhelmed by how deeply the Lord loves the little girl within me—the girl who once wondered if she was loved, seen, or heard.

The more I reflect, the more I am reminded of how precious I am to my Heavenly Father. A Father who delights in His daughter. A Father willing to sacrifice everything for her. A Father whose voice speaks only love. I can weep when I think of His love for me. As I have grown older, I have learned to cling to Him more closely, fixing my gaze on Him and allowing His love to fill my heart.

On days when I question whether the Lord is near, I remember all the ways He has been—near to my tender heart, again and again.

What I have learned in embracing my identity as a daughter is abandonment: letting go of the false belief that I must protect myself, that I am in control, or that vulnerability is weakness.

As I surrender more fully to Him, the Lord continues to reveal how He has been redeeming every step of my story.

He is redeeming the little girl within me—the girl abandoned by those meant to protect her, unwanted by those who should have loved her. The girl left with little to eat, mocked for worn clothes and missing shoes, punished harshly for mistakes. The girl who lay on a cold concrete floor as rain poured through holes in the ceiling. The girl who loved her earthly father deeply, yet never had that love returned.

She hid in her room to stay safe.

She lived in fear.

She believed she was forgotten.

But that was never the truth. She was remembered. She was heard by all of Heaven. And the One who created Heaven and earth was fighting for her.

She did not know it then, but she would one day understand how deeply her Heavenly Father desired her to know His love. He moved through both the small moments and the great ones to reach her heart. She endured what felt unimaginable so that, when His love was finally revealed, she would never doubt He had been there all along.

Now I sit in my Father’s house—the Church—still that little girl, but one who has allowed her Father to renew her. Here, He speaks His claim over me, reminding me that this is where I belong: in the house of my one and only Father.

If you are that little girl—or once were—know this: your Heavenly Father was beside you then, and He is beside you now. His heart breaks for every pain you carry. If He could take it away, He would. But love and suffering are intertwined, as we see in His own story. Through His suffering came redemption, joy, and new life for us all.

Our suffering, too, can bring forth new life—now and in eternity. We are called to holiness, and sometimes that path leads through suffering.

If you are in a season of suffering, know that the Lord is near. He is waiting. He is gently inviting you to turn toward Him and fix your eyes on Him.