Thanking God, My Father...

Another Father’s Day has come and gone with special get-togethers, gifts and dinners to help celebrate this Mother’s Day counterpart.  I do confess however that this is the hardest day of the year for me.  Everywhere I turn I hear the gushy accolades going out to fathers everywhere from radio specials to commercials, yada, yada, yada...like those radio special dedications to dad, so emotionally moving that I find myself drawn to tears as the son or daughter goes on and on about the man of integrity, epitome of Christ-likeness that their father is or was.  I can only ponder what that must have been like to have a father like that!

I am pretty certain that there are some out there that really struggle to hear those testimonies and honestly, I am one of them.  Many of us have heard the horror stories of abuse--whether violent or another yucky abuse of parental rights--and my heart really hurts for those who have that picture of ‘father’ etched in their mind.  My father wasn’t abusive in its many forms, he was just irresponsible and absent!

After my first birthday my parents divorced and I lived the next nine years without a father in my life.  And frankly, it had a huge impact on my life.  His absence left a huge gapping hole in my heart that was never filled until I found my heavenly father at the age of 30.  That’s a lot of years--with more than half of them formative--not to have a father figure in your life.  Years that a girl needs to have a daddy she can dance for, crawl up on his lap knowing she is loved and affirmed, then told how special she is to him.  Those kinda years are pretty pertinent to most of us girls!   And lest I not forget how vital it is in a young lad’s life as well.  This is tough stuff and especially on those Father’s Days when we are encouraged to honor and celebrate that parent.

I saw a post from a friend on FaceBook thanking those who stepped in and touched the lives of those without a father and I thought that was pretty special to mention.  But I can’t really say that I received that from much of anyone.  My stepfather was pretty disconnected from me (not be a bad man at all, he was kind to me) but at age ten, I was starting to act out after a fast and furious move to New York City from the Columbus, Ohio area that was filled with a lot of turmoil, only fueling my insecurities.

It is good to know however, that there is an answer to such sorrow at never having one of your parents because we have been given the best parent ever in the Lord because of Jesus Christ.  So I have learned to honor and celebrate the best Daddy one could ever have.  And as a matter of fact, mere men pale in comparison to my Abba Father!  I am grateful to be His girl!

The Word give us the right to call our heavenly Father Abba, daddy...

Romans 8:15b “...but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

So if you know Christ, you too can cry out to your Daddy!  If you don’t know Him visit here to find out more about Him because He is waiting for you!

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

I did something I have since regretted--I had acrylic nails put on. I have always wanted to have nice nails but the reality is I do not. They are weak, brittle and I absolutely hate to wear rubber gloves when doing dishes.

Photo by ebemobile

Back in November I needed to have some professional pictures taken and this gave me a good excuse to get acrylics. Now I don't just mean the 'Lee Press Ons', no, these are the 'spendy' ones. Wow, they are great and oh, they look so nice. Finally, I have these lovely nails and they are amazingly durable too. I only had to tend to them once a week, usually on a Saturday night before bed. I was quite surprised at how long they lasted too. Now to justify the cost I gave up my weekly white chocolate mocha coffee treat for the next couple of months. There is some maintenance that is required to keep the nails looking really great but that would cost another month or so of my coffee treats so I opted to file them down myself and then just paint them.

As it goes with time, they were filed down to the point where they could be gently picked off and I was horrified at what I found underneath the exterior. My poor nail base was not only paper thin but shredded to bits and they looked horrible. What a sad discovery that I may have ruined my real nails for a fleeting couple of months with acrylics.

Ah, lessons for life, you gotta love it!

To what extent do we go about attempting to make ourselves look great on the outside? After all there are tons of beauty magazines filled with all the details on what it takes for us to 'look great' and after all, isn't this how the world tends to measure our success. Yet when I think of the time, energy and money it takes to look great on the outside I wonder what we have neglected or covered up on the inside? It is possible that masked by the lovely exterior is bitterness, resentment, jealousy and or unforgiveness? It could also be just the lack of growing in our spiritual maturity, still needing the milk like an infant.

This reminds me of the Pharisees who were so adept at looking great on the outside but their insides proved their hypocrisy. They wore their lovely robes, prayer shawls and their phylacteries, while saying all their prayers on the street corners. Looking great on the outside but listen to these strong words from Jesus in Matthew 23

Six times Jesus begins by saying "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites..."

• ...you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men; for you do not enter in yourselves...
• ...you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers;
• ...have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness;
• ...you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
• ...you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

These are such strong words regarding those who looked so holy on the outside but were full of evil on the inside. They refused to tend to the things on the inside while they looked 'right' on the exterior.

Now don't get me wrong. There really is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself and looking as great as you can provided you are not neglecting taking care of the stuff on the inside.

David said in Psalm 139:23,24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
and see if there be any hurtful way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way."

I sure love David's willingness to make himself vulnerable and open before God, asking Him to point out the crud that was sticking to his ribs. (A thought came to me that maybe plaque is all the crud that we refuse to deal with. Just a thought!) His desire was for God to lead and direct him. He certainly made many mistakes but his heart was such that he seemed to be teachable.

There are so many things that take up our time and keep us just too busy to clean the inside of the house or tent as Paul referred to it. I do believe that we need to inventory on a regular basis to assure that we have properly dealt with the things that build up the plaque. And it does take a certain amount of quality time to do so. So as an exercise, see how much time you spend on your exterior, the things that help you look your best. (Please know that God wants great representation.) Is that which is on the inside a balanced representation for our exterior? I believe that is what God desires. If we don't live it, then what is reflected means nothing. I don't know about you but I sure desire to have a balanced life that reflects an interior filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Abba Father, I am so humbled to be Your work in progress. This growing into maturity takes time and can be difficult. I want David's heart because he was willing to be exposed out of his love for You. It is not pleasant to see the plaque that is within but thank You for helping me to deal with whatever crud is in there, that keeps me from reflecting You. It is Your kindness that leads me to repentance and Your Holy Spirit that teaches me along the way. Keep me teachable and growing in Your way of everlasting. Amen.