My Father's Daughter

In so many ways, I am my father's daughter.

I have my dad's nose. I have his hands. We have the same color hair - and are blessed with the same devilishly good looks (haha). We also have the same sense of humor.

I'm a lot like my mom, there is no denying that. I have her compassion to love, her desire to obey and follow Jesus Christ, and the same servant's heart.

But in so many ways, I am just like my dad.

I'm definitely a daddy's girl - I don't see what's wrong with that. I may be blessed with parents that love me and have been able to provide for me, but they also taught me to work hard, very hard, for what I have- and to never complain. One lesson my dad has taught me that has n e v e r left my heart is this: Never let yourself be the victim. Through all of my skin surgeries, the painful stitches and the aching effects of each new melanoma occurrence, you wouldn't hear me complaining and asking "why me," because I was raised better than that. And it is my dad that I owe that gratitude to.

And as much as I love him (obviously)- it's not my dad that I want to talk about today. The father I want to talk about is a little larger than life - literally. It's Jesus Christ, and today I'd love to show you the picture of him that I've grown to see over the past 24 years of my life.

I've shared with you what I've been through: divorce, deaths, cancer, the whole nine yards. And throughout all of these situations, I've come to the realization that as Christians in a dark and fallen world, we have one choice: Do we use the situation to refine and strengthen our faith - or do we allow it to pry us away from the One solution? I've chosen both options at various times and under different circumstances over my life. And I can tell you with absolute certainty that the best option is the first: trust in Him. Ask Him what He's trying to show you - and if you can't hear or see Him, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Our God is a God who pursues, He's just waiting for you to ask Him to start the chase.

It's not an easy choice, to let go of your will for His. Trust me, I know because I've learned it. But as you let go, you really do see that God says "Hey little one, you did your part. Let me do mine." I've referenced several different stories in the Bible about obedience over the course of this "devotional," if you will. There are so many awesome parts in the Bible where God's love for us shines so brightly, my favorite being Psalm 45:11: The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord.

Enthralled? Do you have any idea how heavy that word is? Dictionary.com defines "enthralled" in verb form as "to captivate or charm." It means that Christ can't look away from you, His eyes never leave your sight. That doesn't just apply to women because the word "beauty" is involved, Men :)

What I like to think of is the look a new husband gives his wife when he first sees her as she walks down the aisle toward him and their new life together. Some men tear up, others smile a smile so large it takes up their entire countenance. Regardless, the scene that is so common to so many marriage ceremonies perfectly illustrates the point of what I think God does when he looks at us: he can't take his eyes away from you. He doesn't want to. And it doesn't end there.

He adores us, but He also knows life isn't always easy and fun. there are days when we get stuck down in the mud of the trenches in the battle in this life and it's all we can do to hold onto the white flag of surrender as we realize we can't do it anymore. In those times, especially in my battles and wars, I've found that God's the one holding onto us when we can't hold onto Him. He isn't some omnipotent being in the sky who looks down on us for entertainment.

If that's who He was, would he have allowed himself - and I say "allowed" because he easily could've stopped the crucifixion- to die the most painful death imaginable, reserved for the worst of criminals, just to save us when he was totally innocent? No. Would he have allowed himself to be persecuted for telling the truth, for teaching against doctrines that ruined kingdom after kingdom, dynasty after dynasty? No. Would he have bound up the brokenhearted, rescued the lost, or restored the life of the dead? No.

That's because he's not the kind of God that watches and doesn't do anything. He's a God who saves, who loves, whose heart breaks with ours when we cry wrenching sobs and wonder where he was the whole time, when the answer is clear: beside us as our heart breaks.

Many people don't agree with me because they've allowed this life to pull them away from Him. My hope and prayer is that one day, those same choices and circumstances bring them back. I say this because Jesus Christ is the only hope in this fallen world, the only one whose band-aid can piece together our broken hearts, the only one who's up for the challenge.

What do you say, are you willing to take the risk?

This is one gamble I can promise will pay off. And if you're not ready right now, He'll wait until you are.

Parting thought:

I thank God for the Unseen Hand, sometimes urging me onward, sometimes holding me back; sometimes with a caress of approval, sometimes with a stroke of reproof; sometimes correcting, sometimes comforting. My times are in his hand - Vince Havner

Talk soon.