Irreplacable

I think God lets us be parents so we can see a little of His perspective.

Tonight was a very special night. My eldest daughter received a surprise I had promised earlier today when we were driving to the hospital for her scheduled surgery. She felt anxious about the procedure, but arming herself with knowledge, she faced her fears. That is why I felt that she was mature enough to receive my gift: a hand-written journal that I started when she was two years old. Nine years have passed. Entire years have passed between some entries. Yet, when I gave it to her tonight, it was as if I had given her something more precious than all the rare earth you can buy. I guess that in a way, I have.

In the movie Pretty Woman, Richard Gere plays Edward Lewis, a bachelor who is rich beyond most people's dreams. The funny thing is that he's not happy. Part of the reason he's not happy is because of his rejection by his father by leaving him and his mother for another woman, precipitating his mother's death. He deadpans that it cost him thousands of dollars of therapy just to say that he "was very angry with his father." His own efforts as a businessman allowed him to acquire his father's company and sell it off piece by piece, destroying his father's professional legacy.

Hundreds, if not thousands or millions of Edward Lewises have discovered that the emptiness of wealth is a poor substitute for the love of a father. By giving my children the love of their father and some regular personal investment, I hope to lead them past that particular snare that traps so many. Life is hard enough, don't you think?

Tonight as never before, the meaning of 1 John 3:1a is fresh and real to me.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

If you've had a good relationship with your father, you are blessed. If you haven't, you're never too old--or too young--to start fresh and redeem the lost years with your father or with your children. But the most important part is to let your heavenly Father love you first. After all, you can't give what you don't have.