To My Dad
To the man that I’ve looked up to my whole life, the man I always knew was as strong as Superman himself, the one who showed me patience and kindness, this is for you.
Being able to cry in your arms, to see you at all my band concerts and soccer games, it was easy to experience God and His love. To experience mercy when I may have lied about where I went the night before (sorry mom), to see grace when I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain on a promise, having you as my dad was simply a blessing.
Much of these words will shed light to who I am and what I’ve been through. Much will be about the kind of person my dad is, and much will be how God was present in it all.
May these words bless your soul and encourage you for the days ahead.
ME AND MY DAD
Most of my life I’ve been a naturally curious and adventurous person. I would try things out just for the heck of it. As my parents were building my childhood house, we would record every step of the way on our old school camcorder that we would later watch on VHS tapes and I just had to help record every chance I could get. I loved adventure and learning new things– even to this day it still marks most of my life with God and others.
As I grew, the curiosity stayed but I slowly drifted towards arrogance and pride. I began to doubt any authority in my life including my parents and it slowly changed every relationship around me. Yet in the midst of it all was my dad. He was also a curious person with a wickedly bright intellect who would handle my questions humbly. He knew what it was like to have questions and not understand why others wouldn’t or couldn’t answer them to your liking. So when he saw this natural curiosity in me, he knew exactly what to do.
My dad would sit me down, listen to me, ask me questions on what was going on in my heart, and speak to me like a person and not a nuisance to be dealt with. Maybe he knew how to handle me because he dealt with this growing up, or because he wanted to show his love to me in this unique way, either way, it was a blessing.
Not once did I know what it was like to have a father that didn’t love me, but I know this isn’t the case for everyone. For some, coming to God and acknowledging Him as Father is hard because you had a dad who was harsh with you or made you feel less than. Maybe you’ve never had a father figure so you aren’t even sure what it means to have God as your Heavenly Father.
When you’re stuck, unsure of who God is, and need guidance, remember this; God is kind, patient, abounding in love, slow to anger, rich in mercy, and abounding in grace. God cherishes you just the same as he cherished His one and only son, Jesus. God the Father has loved God the Son through God the Holy Spirit from all of eternity and when we place our faith in God, the same will be true of us. We will be seen as His divine children who are eternally loved, cherished, and delighted in. That is the kind of Father you have when you have the God from the Bible as your Father.
QUESTIONS TO THINK ON
While the journey with God can be full of trials and hardships, it can also be one of immense joy and peace. Neither pleasant nor unwanted emotions are bad, they simply show the state of where our hearts are.
While reading earlier this week I encountered a quote that resonated with me to my core, “we rise and fall to the level of questions we ask.” So as I end this time together, I wanted to leave you with questions I’ve had to wrestle with and that have helped shape my faith.
Do you view God as someone you can come to with the problems of life?
Does God being a Father to you bring feelings of joy or fear? Why?
How has your relationship with your father affected your relationship with your dad? Has it helped, hurt, or done a mix of both? Process this with trusted friends.
My prayer is that this would aid you as you continue to see God as good, delightful, and loving because that is exactly who He is. Blessings to you as you venture through your days ahead.