Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Is Dad There?



She came into our hearts and home when she was just three months old - the answer to fervent prayers for a little girl to complete our family. The years have passed so swiftly. I blinked, and she was all grown up. There were moments I longed to freeze time - to keep them all just as they were for a little while longer.

However, time is a relentless foe and somehow she is all grown up, and we are planning a wedding for the coming spring. I am, once again, trying to slow down the days, trying not to think too far past the wedding.


For when it is over, she will move away - far across the ocean - to begin this part of her life in a new country. I don't want to think too much about that.

She has lived on her own since her college years - owns her own home about a forty minute drive from our house. I am used to her not being here every day, but this will be very different. We talk on the phone nearly every day and visit often. Each call and visit becomes more precious.

Occasionally she will call, and I will hear that certain tone in her voice and know what is coming;
"Is Dad there?" Something is wrong, and she wants her Dad. It could be car trouble, a clogged sink, advice on how to handle a problem...she just wants his help.

I hand him the phone, and he listens. Usually he listens a long time, as she pours out her frustration and complaints and then tells him the problem. He never interrupts or gets impatient; he just listens. Eventually, when she has unburdened herself, he begins to talk her through the problem - patiently explaining what she should do. Sometimes she bursts in and begins to go over it all again; he simply waits.

She knows he will tell her what to do, and if that doesn't help she knows he will come and take care of it for her. It doesn't matter what time of the day or night she calls, he is ready to go to her. She has that absolute assurance. He loves her more than his own life.

You and I have the same assurance about our heavenly Father. I think of the times when I cry out to Him in desperation, or anger, or pain, or doubt, or fear. He lets me pour it all out, and He listens. He always listens. He always has the time and is never impatient. And when I am finally spent, He assures me that all will be well. I don't always know how He will work, but I know without a doubt that He will.

There have been times when my husband wasn't able to take care of things for our daughter simply and easily. Times when it cost something to make things right. But he has always been there with her, seeing her through the difficulties.

So it is with the Lord. There are some things that are simply hard, and He promises to give us the help that we need to get through them. He is wise enough to know when to take care of it all for us or when to be with us as we walk through them. He is there with grace and strength to get us to the other side. He loves us more than we can possibly measure.

Dad's are just that way.

Blessings,
Linda

linking to
Emily's Chatting At The Sky : tuesdays unwrapped