On the wall in my office sits three pictures. In each of these pictures one of my children is front and center, the highlight of the frame, their human lives captured for a moment, as toddlers - cute and awesome - a true blessing to behold! On my computer desktop display sits one picture with two young men and one young lady front and center, again highlighting the frame. They are, all three beautiful and wonderful, a blessing to behold.
The 'in between' times - that span of time between picture one (on the wall) and picture two (on the desktop) is where life is lived. It is that place where the great experiment of family and fatherhood is lived out - for better or for worse, it is a real as it gets! Being a father is one of the greatest adventures I have in this life. From day to day I never know what I will encounter in this adventure or how quickly I will come to the limits of my own ability (usually around 7:42 a.m.). To be honest with you life outside of pictures and video images is really all a blur. We don't live life in a 'still' frame. Rather, the living of life is more akin to a ride on a roller coaster or a journey through a storm. Life truly does come at you fast and confronts you with realities you never dreamed you would have to face and experiences for which you are totally unprepared.
Which leads me to a very important question as we approach this Father's Day: 'How do I get this dad thing right?' I would love to know on the front end how to live in such a way as a father (really as a person) to be sure that the back end turns out all right. That more positive than negative, more joy than shame, more victory than loss, become the story of my children and the legacy of my fathering, parenting, husbanding, serving - really just LIVING!?!?
Of course, I cannot tell how the 'back end' will work out for any of us. And, in fact, my wishes and desires for my life and my children may be off. Afterall, they (my wishes and desires) are marred by the human heart, which is or can be, wicked beyond our own ability to know (see Jeremiah 17:9). Yep, sometimes, oftentimes, I can and do get in the way of that for which I hope to see happen in my kids life. So, what is one to do? This is not only applicable to father's but to everyone of us who desires to live for God in this life and to represent Him and His purposes in our world.
Fortunatley for us, Daniel 3 provides two lessons to move us forward in this area and to help us live for Him. Number one is for us to follow/obey God's Commands. No, I may not be able to get everthing right as a dad or parent or Christian. No, I will not always do right by my kids and I will not always be there for them and yes there will be times that even when I am there for them, that I will simply not be enough for the moment or not have enough to do what needs to be done. So, what can I do? I can follow God consistenly in this life. I can commit my life to the obedience of God's will and live in such as way so that over time this truth is the core marker/identity of who I am and how I lived. This consistent commitment will go a long way toward forming our children and those around us!
The second thing I can do is trust in God's Will! No, I cannot make a plan for my kids life and expect them to follow it (by the way if you are doing this, then you are ruining (yes - destroying) at least two lives, yours and theirs and, to be honest probably more). No, I cannot assure my children that there will be more success than defeat or more joy than pain. But what I can do is display an unflinching trust in God's will and care over me that holds firm even in, especially in the darkest days, which are sure to come! Living life in this way will show my children that even when I am not in control and that when life knocks me down, even for a long count, that I always have hope, because my hope is not in this world but in God Himself.
There you go. This is not only for dad's (though they will be my focus for this weekend), this is a story for us all! Obey and Trust - or as the old hymn says it, 'trust and obey for there is no other way . . . '
See you Sunday!
Biz
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