Roles of a Father

It’s a little after 6am on a Sunday morning…

As the thunder started rolling in about an hour ago, I knew I would be up for the duration. I just waited as the waves grew louder and brighter, knowing that any minute I’d here footsteps upstairs headed down to the safety of my bed. Sure enough, after the sky lights up like a sparkler and the loud clap of thunder that follows I hear the sleepy feet making their way down the stairs. They always pause at the door of our bedroom, to give us that, “Is it okay?” look. Knowing the answer to that question, they continue the approach into the warmth of mom and dad. However, we have a queen size bed and the kids keep growing (as does my midsection) so it’s a tight fit. Of course, I’ve been awake for sometime so now coffee sounds good, so I let them “spread out” as I go get the paper and make coffee. Another loud clap, and the dog retreats from her chair into my bedroom and now they all are again fast asleep, and I sit here drinking coffee, reading the paper, and thinking about how I love the little things a father does for his children, even when that means giving up my warm bed. I think God does the same thing for me and that’s a nice feeling.

When i was a Child

I’m sitting here taking a break from my morning in the yard. Been hard at work trying to take out unwanted grass from under our big oak tree and move to another part of the yard. My muscles ache from digging and pulling and raking, and it’s hard to type this, but as I sit here listening to the birds chirp and the gentle morning breeze whisper through the open windows I reflect back to when I was a child.

 

I hated working in the yard! Mom and Poppy were always out there tending to the flowers, the grass, and the garden and I couldn’t understand why they worked so hard on their days off from the real world. I think I now have a glimpse into why this was and still is so important to them. This is our opportunity to work alongside God in His creation, to be conspirators with Him in real, honest, tangibly productive ways. We don’t have to say anything, we just have to be quiet and enjoy the earth as we encounter it and Him…even if we don’t recognize what’s happening.

Now I as an adult I can thank my parents for introducing me to the garden. And, now I know it is because of them that I now enjoy my time in the garden. 

Animoto.com

fun new toy

Animoto.com

Now this is what I’m talking about

this is a beautiful article at http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/2008/04/09/church-of-the-underground/

Mystery

Love is a beautiful, mysterious fragrance that I can’t begin to understand, and yet I know when I’m fully engaged with its power in those moments watching my children play, alone with my wife, or in honest, raw, and sometimes painful worship of this God we proclaim.