"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways!"
Romans 11:33 (NAS)
From the journal of Cathy Glynn - June 16, 2001 "Father, Daughter"
In memory of my dad, Lawrence Christopher Glynn (6/11/31 - 1/20/69)
'"All this week, my neighbor and his daughter have been playing in our tiny pool outside my window. Because of this precious relationship that I've observed of Samantha's dad's great love for her, it has been a great example to me, a very real, very tangeable and real-life experience watching them have precious time together.
Samantha has been learning to swim. She's about 3 years old - adorable, too! Her dad carries her to the pool in the warm afternoon sun to get wet! Listening to their interaction has been precious. Watching the joy on her dad's face as she's so afraid, unsure, mad, stubborn - is really fun to watch. It's odvious her dad is in complete control of the situation and he isn't going to let anything bad happen to her.
This picture of father and daughter for me has been a wonderful way to see God's view of me. God is ALWAYS right there for me! If I start to flounder or become frightened, He is right there, with His arm stretched out for me. He watches with a big smile, laughing, taking great joy in me as I learn to really trust Him and watching me learn how to swim. He shows me how to kick my feet, He gives me a floatie to hold me up and there's a few cool toys to play with, too!
He initiates some fun games and even some drills to teach me how to trust Him and to do things I don't know how to do. He even holds me tightly when we do something that causes me to fear. Sometimes He hides under the water from me and I can't see Him. Sometimes I just want Him to get out of the pool, leave me alone and go sit on the Scooby-Do towel. Sometimes, I just want to get out of the pool when I see Him there in the warm sun, to rest beside Him on that towel, warming myself - just to be near my Father.
It feels so right! It feels so good.
I like it when God is around, when He is near me. I like how special God makes me feel. I like how loved I feel when I am with Him. Hearing Samantha's laugh, her determination, her stubbornness, her demands, even her un-trust, has made me look at myself.
I tend to think I know better than my Father. Samantha's dad would say, "time to get out and go eat", and she would respond, "No!” with that classic wining voice of a stubborn child. He would ask Samantha if she was cold whenever he would see her teeth chattering, and her response was, "No." But her dad knew she was not being truthful. He would say “It's time to go, Samantha,”
and she would say, "No! I don't want to”! Talk about seeing yourself in the mirror!!
I'm grateful for the little pool outside my home and for this week of observation and reflections of Samantha and her dad. It's just what I need this Father's Day because I find myself wallowing in sorrow and even grieving that my daddy isn't here with me for Father's Day like everyone else...a deep sadness comes over me, but God has become my Father and I am satisfied!!
God, thank you for turning my sorrow into great joy in You, being my Father who loves and adores me SO much!
God, my Father, thank you for being so patient with me. Thank you for Your tolerance of me & my attitudes, my words & my deeds. Thank You for Your grace that covers me when I am so unreachable. God, thank You for how you look at me: in adoration, as precious in Your sight, You're proud of me and You never want to lose sight of me - I'm too precious to You! You have always been my Father and You always will be my Father.
God, thank You for how You keep Your distance, but You're always just within arm's reach. Father, thank You for Your words, Your precious words to me, Your sweet voice, Your caring heart that flows out to me in Your words.
Father, thank You for how safe I feel with You, for how safe I AM with You. Thank You for having a plan for my life and that in the midst of it, we have our special "pool-time" each day.
To God be all the glory!!! AMEN!! '
2 comments:
Thank you Cathy for sharing. Happy Father's Day. I too will miss my dad today.
WOW! I know this story was from last year and Fathers day is around the corner. But it made me think about how we precieve ourselves or how our FATHER and father see us as well. My dad loves me this i know. But one day my mom who is now divorced from my dad, asked if my dad ever said in words that he loves me. I said I never thought about it cuz i knew he did. My mom told me that he always had a hard time saying the words. lol So i tested him. I said at the end of one of our conversations " I love you". He was clearly startled and did not respond. But I KNOW that he does.
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