Father God

Romans 8:15 (New International Version, ©2011)

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b] Father.”

God as our Father - not everyone has a good picture of a loving daddy, so sometimes it is tough to think of God as our Father.

I had a good relationship with my Father. He's gone now, and I miss him, but I think back on all of the things he tried to do to make my growing up good. Scouts, camping, boating, teacher conferences, working side by side (I learned to do just about all of the construction trades by working on remodeling houses with him) and one very interesting thing - being gentle.

It took a lot to get my dad upset. He had to put up with my mom, who was a difficult person to all people around her. And Dad not only did it pretty well, but he actually Loved her! I can remember the day he was laying in a hospital bed, the doctor had told us that Dad was at the end. I was so very sorry all at once for the things I had never done with him, the things I had never said to him. I tried to sit there and pour it out, but in two words he helped me to understand that it was OK -

"I know." Combined with the loving look in his eyes, it was all I needed to hear.

He knew that I loved him, he knew that I would miss him, and he knew that this was just part of life - a painful part, but part of life nonetheless.

But Dad would not 'let go' until I promised him that I would take care of Mom. She was completely dependent upon Dad, the victim of a stroke and then Senility. As soon as I assured -held his hand and promised - him that Mom would be OK for the rest of her life, he relaxed, and only said two more words until he left us a few days later. Those two words?

"Precious Jesus." He said them over and over, and it dawned on me later that he wasn't calling out to Jesus, he wasn't begging, he wasn't searching - he was seeing. And he was being an example.