Thanking Dad

When I was in my teens, my father worked as a woodwork installation foreman for a couple different woodworking shops. His job was to hire carpenters and supervise installation of merchandise displays and such in stores, banks or other commercial buildings. The work generally kept him on the road and that meant seeing him, for the most part, on weekends. Knowing he would be home for a couple days, generally meant being ready to help with all the projects that accumulated and needed attention before Dad had to head back to wherever it was that the current job was going on. Looking back, I'm amazed at the energy that schedule required. One summer, we built a house for my grandparents. Pretty much, sunup to sundown, Saturday and Sunday and maybe a little bit on Friday night we built a house. It never occurred to me that maybe Dad would have preferred to have a "regular" job so weekends wouldn't be so intense.

Only when I graduated from college did the situation change. Dad stopped working on jobs that required being away most of the time. It was about that time when I began to question, "Why in the world did he choose to 'abandon' Mom and me and then try to cram all the stuff he missed into a couple days each week?" Silly, immature, self-centered me; it was all because he wanted to be sure that I got the education he had been " asured" he as incapable of achieving. His motives had to do with making more money; but only because he wanted to give me something he felt he had been denied. That explained why this man who was pretty critical of anything I ever did was so much less upset than I expected him to be when I nearly flunked out. When I needed it most, he encouraged me and had faith in me and assured me that things would work out.

There is a beautiful analogy here. We all have a Father who watches us grow and encourages us even though we are unsure of what we are doing. Some who may read this may not have had an earthly father like mine who wanted more than anything else to help them along. I ask all who might read this to take heart. Even though you may toy with thoughts of being abandoned, your Father in Heaven has you right where He wants you. Just as Dad had great plans for me so God has plans for you. He would not have brought you into existence were that not the case. Get to know Him better and become who He designed you to be. There are no adequate words to thank someone who loves you so much. I am so blessed and can simply say, "Thanks Dad and Dad."