Making a Memory for You His name was Jack and he loved to make memories for his five children. I was married to Jack for thirty-three years. There would come this gleam in his eye and you could almost hear the wheels of mischief turning in his head and then he would say, “Watch this!” “Hey kids! Come here! I want you to freshen up because we are going somewhere. Meet you in the car in five minutes!” The questions began to fly, “Where are we going?” “Dad, I am playing, do I have to go?” “Tell us! Where are we going?” “Don’t ask questions just clean up and get in the car!” came back the gruff answer. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Jack began, “I was downtown today and saw Sammy Smith. He is the director of the funeral home. He was telling me that they are running a family special right now. I think it would be a good idea for us to take advantage of this special.” The children were all ears! Puzzled expressions filled their faces. Jack continued, “Right now they are offering a great family discount on funeral and burial plans but there is one catch. The whole family has to go in today and get measured for our caskets.” With that statement, heavy silence filled the car followed by all the children talking at the same time. “Oh you are just kidding! He’s just kidding! Daddy you are just kidding aren’t you?” By this time we were only a short distance from the funeral home. It was within sight!. As we waited at the stop sign, Jack turned to the back seat and said, “Of course not! This is serious business and an opportunity to save money.” With that, he proceeded to turn and pull into the funeral home parking lot. Suddenly pandemonium broke out in the car. The oldest shouted, “You can’t make me go in there.” The others all followed with similar tirades including tears. Jack, who had already opened his door, stopped turned and looked at all of them, closed the door, and said, “OK, then we will just go to the Pizza Hut and eat!” These special Dad moments were forever emblazed into the children’s mind and hearts and anytime they share about their dad, they tell these stories. These stories will be told to their children and their children’s children. Every father wants to hear the laughter of his children. Fathers want to pull from their years of experience and wisdom and display something of awe to their children. Of course God does it on a much grander scale. He created the rainbow as a reminder of His covenant (Genesis 9:16). But on a personal one on one scale God wants to give you memories of His Greatness in your life. He wants to impress you with His Kindness and display His awesome power on your behalf. He wants to tell you a joke and hear you laugh. He wants to surprise you with His ability and strength. God sent His Son, Jesus to pay the price so that you could have the right to call Him, Abba Father. (Romans 8:15) The only English word we have that comes close to the correct translation of Abba is Daddy. Allow God to be a Father to you but also let Him delight in being your Daddy! |