Our Heavenly Father
17/06/07 07:51
My
father died when I was only five years old. I
don’t have many memories of him but I have
pictures and the memories shared by my older
siblings. In fact, I don’t recall much of what
I thought about for the next five years while our
family lived without a father. I imagine it
wasn’t easy for my mom. She had to raise five
of us alone. I do recall that during those years
between five and ten, I was becoming a very unruly
child. In 1967 my mother married again to the man I
have always spoke of as my father. He was a good man,
fair and a loving provider. I remember a time when I
sliced my finger open because I was breaking glass on
the backside of the garage. Glass bottles and ten
year old boys don’t mix; like cats and dogs,
put them together and someone is going to get hurt. I
never saw so much blood! I ran to my dad for help. I
knew that I would probably get into trouble for
breaking the glass but medical attention was the
business at hand. I didn’t know how to stop the
blood but I knew it had to stop. I ran into the house
screaming and Dad came to the rescue. Seven stitches
later and I was as good as new. A few years later,
while watching T.V. I began choking on an ice cube.
Dad was sitting next to me and must have seen me
struggling for my breath. He had me picked up and
turned upside down before I could object about his
life-saving technique. A few slaps on the back and we
were back watching the show before the next
commercial. After we sat there for a minute he relit
his pipe and looked over at me. It was one of those
looks that seemed to say, “Do you understand
what just happened here?” A gentle smile, a
stern brow and a look in his eyes that let me know he
could handle all that I would dish out –he was
my father. I am so glad that he was there through my
teen years. Although I became a very foolish son
during that time, I believe that his presence and
guidance restrained me from the really foolish!
Now, if you are a Christian, you intuitively saw the actions and care of my father as the mirror image of God’s care for His children. We get wounded (even when those wounds are self-inflicted) and He heals them up. He is quick and mighty to save (as in the ice cube incident). And He keeps our feet from stumbling. I remember that my brother and I would sneak out of the house at night and run the neighborhood and find all kinds of trouble. But when dad started living with us all that nonsense stopped! You know, Jesus said that we ought to regard God as our Heavenly Father. James tells us that His love for us never changes. Isaiah tells us that He is our Redeemer and David tells us that His love and compassions are as high as the heavens. Finally, the writer of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines us for our eternal well-being, and that, is a good thing! You see, I know that my dad loved me; he cared enough to be involved. I only wish that I would have allowed him to be involved with me like he wanted to be.
Now, if you are a Christian, you intuitively saw the actions and care of my father as the mirror image of God’s care for His children. We get wounded (even when those wounds are self-inflicted) and He heals them up. He is quick and mighty to save (as in the ice cube incident). And He keeps our feet from stumbling. I remember that my brother and I would sneak out of the house at night and run the neighborhood and find all kinds of trouble. But when dad started living with us all that nonsense stopped! You know, Jesus said that we ought to regard God as our Heavenly Father. James tells us that His love for us never changes. Isaiah tells us that He is our Redeemer and David tells us that His love and compassions are as high as the heavens. Finally, the writer of Hebrews tells us that God disciplines us for our eternal well-being, and that, is a good thing! You see, I know that my dad loved me; he cared enough to be involved. I only wish that I would have allowed him to be involved with me like he wanted to be.
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