I’m a “daddy’s girl”.
I’m not embarrassed by the fact. [I’m also a “mamma’s girl”
and have a great relationship with my mom.]
But I do have a special relationship with my dad. We’re wired in similar ways and he “gets” the
way my brain ticks better than most. When
I need to whine and vent or I’m sick, I call my mom. When I need someone to understand where I’m
coming from, I call my dad. The story goes that as a babe, it was my dad alone
who could get me to sleep when I was really fussy. There is more than one
picture with me napping with him as a wee one...Dad asleep in the chair and me
sound asleep with him, curled up on his chest.
It’s not really surprising or really all that ironic (at least
to me), that as an adult, when standing next to my dad, my height next to his,
my head lays perfectly on his chest. If
I lean into him or he pulls me in for a hug, my head falls perfectly on his
chest. And when I’m having a bad day or
a hard day that’s exactly where I want to be...held by my dad, with my head
next to his heart.
And I know I am blessed to have a dad who loves and takes
care of me so...even as an adult. I’ve
mentored girls with dads who should have stopped contributing after the sperm (because
they’ve literally sucked up everything since in every imaginable way). I have friends who have dads that are decent
men...notable members of society...but nothing special or notable in the father
department...they can’t and don’t hug or communicate or interact and never
really have. My siblings and I have never had to doubt how
much our father loves us. (Heck as “Papa
John”, friends young and old have been given tastes of a father’s love through
my own dad.) My dad is a good
dad.
He reminds me often of the love a father is supposed to have
for a child. And he reminds me of,
because he mimics, the love of the Father.
Throughout scripture, and in especially meaningful ways in
the New Testament as Christ defines the relationship with Yaweh by referring to
Him as “Abba” – a tender term for father (similar to the way I will still
occasionally refer to my father as “daddy”) – the love of God for His children
is made evident.
1 John 3:1, in one of my many favorite verses, states “See
what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God!”
My Heavenly Father is a known good God, but also a good
father, a good dad. Both in Matthew
(7:11) and Luke (11:13) the words of Jesus are recounted that say that if evil
fathers can give good gifts to their children, how much greater the gifts the
Father will give to those who ask! These
verses are found in direct context of Jesus telling his disciples to come to
the Father and to seek and to ask and come boldly. I don’t feel as if it is impertinent to
translate this to know that if imperfect fathers can love their children in
imperfect but good ways (giving good gifts), God can only love in perfect and
good ways... He is a good dad.
Admittedly, when I think of my own dad and think of how this
is a reflection of the love God has demonstrated to me, I think of an old
Carpenter’s Tools song. A song that
recounts the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) and in the chorus the words
reiterate “And then He ran to me; He took me in His arms and held my head to
His chest...” In fact scripture
(depending on the translation) says that the father ran and “threw his arms
around” his son or “embraced” him. (vs. 20).
I know the full theology behind this parable. I know Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees
about their role in the story. But
still, in midst of it all, I see the simple truth: God loves His children and
calls them to Himself.
Some times, when the days are long and life feels
hard...when I’m struggling with the pieces in parts, it is this image of God I
need to come to. I know His love and His
faithfulness and presence. I do my best
(although fail often) to rely steadily on the One who Is regardless of the day
or situation. And I am thankful and
blessed that when life doesn’t make sense...when I can’t fix the pain or the
hurt; when I just need One to understand where my heart is sitting, my God
knows me as His child and allows me to know Him as a father. There are many
pieces of life that don’t make sense right now.
Pieces that hurt. Pieces of the
world that I can’t fix and can’t hold.
I’m thankful that the world has the same opportunity to be held and to
be known. That God takes care of His world far better than I can or ever will
(turns out, I’m still not God! Hallelujah!).
I am terribly blessed to have a Father God, that much like my daddy,
when I come to seek Him; He takes me in His arms and holds my head to His chest...
“What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of
God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t
recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what
he’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly
who we are: children of God. And that’s
only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up!
What we know is that when Christ is openely revealed, we’ll see him –
and in seeing him, become like him...”
1
John 3:1-2 [The Message]
