Happy Father’s Day!
Today in church, the young children went up to the front and sang some songs about fathers that they have been practicing for the last couple of weeks. It was fun to hear and see them sing. I also watched with great interest as my oldest son, who is 3 years old, sang along.
I haven’t been a dad very long and I’m still learning a lot. Some things I’ve learned so far are just little things, like how to get marker out of the carpet or how to make the tastiest Mac and Cheese, but some of the things I’ve learned are on more of a deeper level. Maybe fatherhood and ageing has given me a different perspective.
As I watch my two toddlers, I often think about our Heavenly Father watching over us. I think of the love that He has for us. When my son works on a puzzle, gets stuck and asks for help, I’m willing to help him out with it. I also think about God being eager to help us if we come to him with our problems. The scripture in Matthew 7:9-11 fits well:
“Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask of him?”
My wife shared with me an experience she had when she took our son to get his immunization shots. Our son has always been really trusting. Even when he’d cry as a baby, he’d just call out and then wait for us to take care of him. He just wasn’t a big crier. Well, as the shots were administered, a look of pain and shock overcame his face. He looked up with an expression of “how could you let this happened to me?” My wife admitted she started crying too. She felt so bad for him and wanted to somehow tell him that the shots were to help him. It would only hurt for a little while. Later, she realized that Heavenly Father must feel the same way when we go through our trials in life. They may be painful or seem really hard at the time, but they really help us learn and become stronger people.
What are some insights that you have gained that demonstrate our relation, as children, to our Heavenly Father?