Blog – May 13, 2015
A Father’s Love
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1
I was recently flying home from Nashville when I witnessed something very touching. It was an early morning flight, and I had to wake up before 4:00 in the morning (yes, that’s A.M.!) to return my rental car and make my flight. I had not filled my car with gas the night before, so I had to make that extra stop and felt a little anxious as I sped towards the airport. I think I might have broken a speeding law or two on the way (Don’t tell my husband John!).
I arrived at the airport, returned the car, got checked in and through security, and arrived at my gate on time. Whew! There’s always a bit of anxiety that accompanies travel. I got seated on the plane and tried to ignore the noise and bumps so I could get a little bit of sleep. Anyone who knows me, however, knows that I can NEVER sleep on a plane no matter how tired I am. I close my eyes and rest, but sleep always eludes me.
Feeling frustrated and overly tired, I finally opened my eyes and got my computer out to work on this blog. I was sitting there in my fog trying to write, wondering, “What in the world am I going to write about every week? I must have been crazy to think I could write a weekly blog!
Then the magic happened! There was a man sitting in the row beside me who was traveling with his young daughter. He was a big, strapping kind of guy, and his little girl looked so small next to him. She was full of the energy 5 or 6 year olds have, especially when they are flying. She didn’t seem to be a bit tired like the rest of us. You could hear her excited chatter about all the details of the plane. “Are we taking off, Daddy? Why is the plane so loud? Can I have another drink? When will we get there?” This was a true adventure in her young eyes, and she was loving every minute of it.
When I looked over a while later, I saw that she was watching a video. Something funny must have happened because she looked up at her dad with the biggest smile and he smiled back at her, and there it was…the look of total love and devotion. This man sitting next to her wasn’t just her father, he was her hero. The love in her beautiful brown eyes as she smiled at her Daddy was palpable, and I could tell that she was Daddy’s little girl. He cherished her, and she adored him.
I found myself sitting there with a huge grin on my face as well as I realized it’s exactly the same with our Heavenly Father. He adores and cherishes us. Our Father’s love is like what I witnessed on that plane…only on steroids! It’s so intense, so profound, so unfathomable that we can never truly understand the depth of it. I can’t, anyway. Human love, even the tender love I witnessed between a father and his little girl, is nothing compared to the love our Father lavishes on us. 1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.”
I’m going to try to keep the memory of that tender moment in my pocket and take it out on those days when I feel unworthy. Maybe it will help me remember how truly loved I am!
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your love. I don’t totally understand it, but I cherish it. What comfort I feel to know you adore me just the way I am. May I strive to live a life that is worthy of that kind of love. Amen.
~Jill
