Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Beach and a Father's love


Since becoming a father, I have realized many times how this has taught me about God's love for us. Today at the beach, I spent a lot of time with my daughters crashing through the waves. Sometimes I let them stand by themselves and tackle the gentle wave on their own. Sometimes if the wave looked too big, I ran over to help them and to make sure that they didn't get too swamped. And I noticed that when I let them handle a wave on their own, even one that looked big to a loving dad, I laughed to myself and even felt excitement when they conquered it and their fears. And I discovered that as I let them experience the waves, even with the hint of danger in the seas, they seemed to enjoy life more fully and even the occasion dunk under the waves was met with laughter. 

Now, I view my children as the most precious cargo. However, I did let them get banged around (a bit) by the waves. In it they seemed to get stronger. Now sometimes they became so brave that I had to pull them back. But I was always there for them watching, loving, and sometimes even laughing. 

I wondered if maybe sometimes that is the way God views us in our ups and downs. Now to be clear, I am not suggesting God delights in our suffering; but I do wonder if sometimes he smiles when he sees us realize that he was there all along watching, loving, and sometimes even laughing. 



1 comment:

Tracey Smith said...

This is so true.....thanks. love you. Even as our children grow older.....it is still the same feelings. Thankful for love of family and God's love for us.