When we were children, Daddy had a habit of sneaking in a tape recorder on special occasions. Often he would encourage us to ham it up, sing a favorite tune, or recite our Christmas wish list. Daddy had first recorded the tapes on a wire spool. He enlisted a professional to transfer one of those old tapes to a reel-to-reel recorder, then finally onto a cassette.

As I listened to my own preschool ramblings on that tape at our family gathering, I realized how many years had passed since my childhood. I wondered then how many more times God would bless our holidays with a complete family circle. Unfortunately, not enough.

Only one more Christmas arrived where the entire family gathered with Daddy present. As each of us took turns that last year sharing what had been our favorite Christmas, I heard my father echo what had easily become mine—the Christmas when he had given each of us that childhood tape. As is so often true, the giver always gains a greater blessing than the receiver—but in this case, I think it was a tie.

When my father died, he didn’t leave an abundance of personal belongings. Among my cherished treasures are one of his Bibles, a batch of his best sermons, his barely legible, hand-written letters to me, a hat or two, a flannel shirt I snuggle up in on cold days, a few other trinkets—and a tape that spelled love, T-I-M-E.

Perhaps that gift was Daddy’s way of making up for all the times when ministry pulled him away from family—when someone else’s crisis needed his attention—or when yet another meeting demanded his leadership. At any rate, it was one of his best gifts.

Through the years our “holding tree” has become even more than a storage place for prayers and memories. That piece of furniture symbolizes a place to hang my heart. It represents a place where, along with damp umbrellas and hats, I can hang up my worries to dry temporarily—a place where my Heavenly Father holds out loving arms any day, any time. There, like a giant oak tree, He gives me shade, comfort, and a peg-like branch to “hang out” my cares and concerns for awhile.

Rebecca Barlow Jordan is an inspirational speaker, greeting card writer, and best-selling author of 11 books. Her devotional book, Daily in Your Presence, Intimate Conversations with a Loving Father (about the names and attributes of God) is featured on Crosswalk.com. You can find out more about Rebecca and her books, and sign up for her newsletter, at www.rebeccabarlowjordan.com.
© 2009, Rebecca Barlow Jordan, excerpted from At Home in My Heart, Preparing a Place for His Presence. Used with permission of the author.

Original publication date: June 22, 2009