Daddy. I hear that a lot, and I absolutely love it! Why? Because it has given me the blessed honor of having God’s perspective on how He loves His children. It has helped me see clearly how He loves and forgives us. It has also helped me understand, respect, and appreciate His discipline. I love and respect God for being such a great Father!
My kids are young (10 and 8), so I usually hear “Daddy” in reference to something my beautiful kids need. Daddy can you help me? Or Daddy, can I have a snack? Something along those lines. Every time, I answer and come to their aid.
There is nothing like how my kids say “Thank you Daddy” on Christmas morning! I love giving my kids gifts. It is so awesome to see their faces and watch them run around the room with excitement! Their gratitude and joy is so overwhelming that I just laugh and keep telling them to open more presents! It brings me great joy to see my children happy.
Sometimes, I hear “Daddy!!!” when my children are scared. That usually happens when they see a big spider in the house. I always know because there is a certain tone of extreme urgency in their voices when it is a spider. When I hear that, I go running to them in protector mode. We get some pretty big wolf spiders here sometimes. I just had one the other day in the garage as big as a silver dollar! I should have taken a picture for the blog, but I just killed that sucker instead. You would have killed a spider the size of a field mouse too! They are fast and they can jump crazy high! I have fought them for 12 years here. I am Daddy, spider warrior!
There are other times when I hear “Daddy” in a sad tone behind tears. When I hear that tone, I put away my spider armor, and I go into teddy bear Daddy mode. Like when my little girl just needs a hug after a stressful day at school. When I hear “Daddy” spoken in that way I just want to comfort them and hold them.
My wife and I have also had to suffer seeing our son at Children’s Hospital for 2 days and 2 nights due to a broken left arm he suffered falling off the monkey bars at school. He was only in Kindergarten. We ended up getting the best surgeon in the country because it was a stage three break. At stage four they amputate because they can’t fix breaks that bad. It was real bad. He fell from way too high up. I was mad at the school for even letting him climb on it. The way my son said, “Hi Daddy” after waking up from surgery in the recovery room is something I hope to never have to hear again. They saved his arm and he has full normal use of it, praise God! No, I didn’t sue the school. I could have, but I’m not like that. I forgive them as Jesus forgives me.
I hear “I love you Daddy” a lot too! That line right there is something every father should cherish. If you are a father, God made you a man for a reason and He has given you the divine responsibility to love your children as He does. That is not easy, and you are going to need the Holy Spirit, but we can do it with God!
Fatherhood is such a deep responsibility and magnificent honor! I could never love as perfectly as God does, but through the Holy Spirit I strive to love my kids in a way that points them to God.
There are times where my children need firmer discipline than other times as well. Like when my 8 year old son goes off the rails and pushes his older sister because he got too competitive while playing. My tone of voice has to be more serious and his discipline more firm to show him that attacking girls is absolutely out of the question…even if it is your big sister. I always forgive right away though, and use it as a chance to teach him the right way and build him up to do the right thing next time. I do that because that is how the Lord loves me and my heart responds by loving my son the same way.
I have made my mistakes believe me. There have been times when I lost my temper, and I was the one doing the repenting. There is nothing like a good back seat argument between siblings in the truck on a hot day! I am not a perfect father, but I strive to be the best representation of their Heavenly Father that I can be. Where I fail, I ask for forgiveness and learn from it, and the lesson is never wasted. Don’t ever be afraid to say sorry to your kids. When you mess up, admit it, apologize, and move on in grace.
Our Heavenly Father is listening to us at all times. He hears our requests, our cries for help when we are scared, and our gratitude. He hears our sorrow when we are sad and He cares and wants to comfort us. He hears us when we are broken and we need to be put back together, and He never leaves the bedside of our suffering. He also hears our praises and our songs to Him. He hears when we tell Him “I love you Lord!”, and He cherishes us. He loves giving us gifts and He enjoys us! The Bible says God made us in His image, so I always picture God as a giant man. I can picture Him smiling at us right now. He loves His children so much!
I just want you to know that. You have a Daddy in Heaven who loves you! He is not like your earthly father whoever that might have been. He is perfect in His love, and He wants you to be with Him where He is at the end of your life. He made that happen when He died for you on the cross. All you have to do is accept that gift and fall into the arms of your Father in Heaven.
Our Heavenly Father is always listening. What do you need to talk about with Him today? Whatever you might need or whatever you need to say, He will always be listening in love.
Grace and peace to you all!
Ryan Callahan's Blog 