Natalie Cole
‘MY FATHER NAT WAS UNFORGETTABLE,
BUT NOW I HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER’
Nat King Cole’s song ‘Unforgettable’ is one of the best known in the world, and his daughter took it to the top of the charts in a poignant duet with him. But it was recorded long after his death.
It was a tribute to her dad by a loving daughter, but there was pain behind the smiles. When the legendary crooner died of lung cancer, Natalie felt the losss more than perhaps most daughters. All her life, she never got to see enough of him because of his constant touring, and now he has gone for good.
But something positive did come from that experience. Her longing for a closer relationship to her human father took her on a spiritual journey to discover her heavely Fatjer – whose love is now healing the pain. When Nat died, the despair Natalie felt at not being there him was severe.
“The last time I saw my dad relaxed and healthy was in September 1964, when he took me to register for my freshman yer at prep school in Masachusetts . . . . My last memory when we arrived at school was him giving me a big hug and kiss and saying, ‘Bye, Sweetie. See you at Christmas.’”
Natalie was looking forward to a happy Christmas reunion, but when she returned home, she was horrified at what she saw. Her strong, smiling father was in the final stages of lung cancer, reduced to little more than bones and an endless cough.
When he died a few months later, Natalie was at boarding school. It was devastating: “What I remember most about the funeral day was my deep sadness at not having the chance to tell my daddy goodbye and how much I loved him”.
The Cole family lacked no material possessions, but it all meant nothing now. There was a hunger in Natalie’s heart for her father’s love, a hole in her soul which only another father could fill.
As the ‘60s progressed, Natalie began a downward spiral into drink and drug abuse, and meaningless relationships.
“My father’s death was a trigger . . . . I was still grieving over his absence but did not understand it yet,” she explains.
Amazingly, this was also the ime when her own singing career took off. Her first single, ‘This Will Be’, topped the charts, winning two Granny awards.
But first heroin, an then cocaine, began to ruin her life. By the 80s, Natalie was almost penniless, and she finally checked herself into a clinic. The six months she took to dry out also gave her the opportunity to talk with the Jesus she had been introduced to as a small child.
“The two major spiritual examples in my life were my husband Marvin, who became a Baptist minister, and my Aunt Evelyn, with whom I lived for a short time in my teens. She taught me how to have a living, vital relationship with God by living it out before me.
“I saw the power of God move in my aunt’s life through her answered prayers. I learned about crying to God from her”.
It has been a long road to recovery, and to develop her new faith. Natalie stresses it did not come overnight, but in measured steps. She is still making that climb on a daily basis.
“I now realise that after my father’s premature death I was looking for love and affection in all the wrong places. My advice is never stop working on your relationship with the Lord. He is the great Provider. He is waiting for us to respond to Him.
“I have come a very long way, and I’m still God’s work in progress”.
Barnabas Ministries UK 
