I’m the father of three wonderful (sometimes frustrating) kids. 7, 5, 3, that’s their ages, odd numbers for sometimes odd kids. I love the little things about being a father. Everyday I come home from work to smiling kids. My youngest is always there to give me a hug as I walk through the door. The other older ones always stop and say “HI Dad!” and then go about their business (hey, they’re busy) I LOVE that.
Right now, we’re potty-training our 3 year. (Ok, maybe its more like the Bataan Death March, since we’ve been at it since LAST September.) This potty training has a very unique component to it. At night, just before I go to sleep I take her to the bathroom. I stalk into her room and pick her out of bed and carry her off to the potty. It’s actually one of my favorite times of the day. When I pick her up she is still 95% asleep so she wraps her arms tightly around my neck and her legs tightly around my stomach and nuzzles her head in the crook of my neck. I LOVE that.
She’s so close and so fragile and totally my responsibility and the very best thing is that she fits perfectly in that position with my body. It’s like we were made for each other.
Its like that with all of our kids. Its those late night, grabbing them out of the car seat, still asleep, times that you realize it. You realize that this parenthood stuff is special, feels good, and is so humbling. You realize that you don’t ever want to lose that feeling of closeness that you have with your children at THAT moment.
Our Heavenly Father wants to have that same kind of relationship with us. He wants to be that close. He wants to be there, to carry us into our beds, tuck us in and kiss us on the foreheads. He desires that kind of relationship with us, His children. He wants us to stop what we’re doing, if only for a brief second, and say “HI Dad!”
Galatians 4:6,7 “Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
