Day 73: Who’s Your Daddy?

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:3–6 msg

A few years ago, when I was waiting for Missy in the school pick-up line, I became concerned she’d gotten sick during the day because she was standing in line with her head down and a very uncharacteristic forlorn expression on her face. As soon the school-crossing-guard/gestapo allowed her to climb into the backseat of our car, I asked how she was feeling while edging toward a parking space so that I could jump out of the car and check her forehead to see if she was running a fever.

She confided that she wasn’t sick. She was sad because her friend George had asked, “Who’s your daddy?” during math class. Now my guess is that her classmate’s question was completely innocent, and he was probably just preoccupied with which adults “belonged” to which child in light of the fact that Parent’s Day was fast approaching at their school. And since George had only seen Missy walking down the hall while holding hands with me—a middle-aged pale lady—he simply wanted to be sure he recognized Missy’s daddy when the time came. However, based on Missy’s sagging shoulders, his innocuous query had unwittingly pierced her heart the way broken glass would a bare foot.

When I asked her how she answered his question, she soberly responded, “I told him I don’t have a daddy.” Suffice it to say I thought my heart was going to split in half. In the silent seconds that followed, I asked God for wisdom in how to comfort my little girl. Then I drove to a nearby park and took her for a walk down to the duck pond and found a comfortable place to sit under a tree. After I played with her hair for a little while—which always seems to soothe her—I said, “Honey, you actually do have a Daddy and His name is Daddy God. He knew you before you were born and He loves you more than all the stars in the sky.”

She thought about that for a while before asking earnestly, “Mommy, if God is my Daddy, how come He doesn’t drive me to school or teach me to play soccer or make me pancakes like George’s daddy?” To which I replied, “Well sweetie, Daddy God is invisible, so we can’t see Him the way we can see human daddies with skin on. And even though Daddy God doesn’t drive a car, coach soccer, or make pancakes, He did create the whole, wide world and He is always with you and He will never, ever leave you or stop loving you.”

That first precious conversation Missy and I had about her unconditionally loving Daddy God led to a series of conversations about Him that have continued to this day. And while I had the privilege of two “skin daddies” (my dear Dad Harper and stepfather, John Angel), it didn’t take me long to realize that the immutable affection and permanent presence of a heavenly Father were foundational truths I needed to be reminded of myself!

• Would you describe your relationship with Father God to be more secure or insecure?
• When’s the last time (if ever) you’ve figuratively crawled into His lap and lingered in His embrace?
• As you look back on your life, how has God loved you like a Father?