Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day, a day of appreciation and introspection for the place our fathers hold or held in our hearts and how we view the men who raised us...to become! My daddy passed away before Christmas in 2012, and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and remember our talks, especially those in later years. These days I tend to shy away from holiday celebrations, since my life has taken a different turn, but I do celebrate my daddy's memory each day, as I celebrate my Father who loaned him to me each and every day. Death cannot erase memories, and it cannot change the love we hold in our hearts. Although my earthly daddy is not longer present, my Heavenly Father never misses a day telling me how much I am loved. He guides my way, and if I stray, He is there to lead me back.

Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors, as he expresses with ease profound impressions of who a father should be and who our Father is. One whose love is changeless.


 "Father's Day: A day of cologne. A day of hugs new neckties, long-distance telephone calls, and Hallmark cards. Today is my first Father's Day without a father. For thirty-one years I had one. I had one of the best. But now he's gone. He's buried under an oak tree in a West Texas cemetery. Even though he's gone, his presence is very near - especially today." God Came Near
 (Proverbs 20:7 The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.)

"My father didn't do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do - be there."  
God Came Near 
(Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.)

"My father taught me how to shave and how to pray. He helped me memorize verses for Sunday school and taught me that wrong should be punished and that rightness has its own reward. He modeled the importance of getting up early and staying out of debt. His life expressed the elusive balance between ambition and self-acceptance." God Came Near
 (Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life.)

"From the first time a father reaches to take his daughter's infant hand, she reaches up and takes his heart. She never returns it. He is her protector her provider. Her knight. Her hero. In turn she is his lamb. His angel on loan. His beauty of beauties. And the Angels Were Silent
(Isaiah 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his  heart.)

"Reach up and take your Father's hand and say what my daughter Andrea said to me, 'I'm not sure where I am. I'm not sure which is the road home. but you do and that's enough.'"
And the Angels Were Silent
(Isaiah 41:13 For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.)

"Jesus wears a sovereign crown but bears a father's heart. He is a king who writes tender notes to His children asking them to come home. A king who can't rest until He is sure His children are safe. A king who would die to get His family home. And the Angels Were Silent
(Psalm 121:3,4 He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he...will neither slumber nor sleep.)

"Don't we all long for a father who, even though our mistakes are written all over the wall, will love us anyway? Don't we want a father who cares for us in spite of our failures? We do have that type of a father. A father who is at his best when we are at our worst. A father whose grace is strongest when our devotion is weakest." Six Hours One Friday
(Matthew 6:9 This, then, is how you should pray: "Our Father in heaven....") 


The best lesson my daddy taught me was that Jesus loves me, and the best gift he ever gave me, other than my very own Bible on Christmas 1959, was the privilege of seeing him kneel beside his bed at night and pray. I know my mama had a hand in shaping his life, as she did in shaping mine. Today as I remember I feel so blessed, because although things may not always be perfect, we can cherish the things that are.