God, the Father

I’ve heard that a person’s perception of God is greatly influenced by the kind of relationship that’s been experienced with his/her earthly father.

That makes a lot of sense to me.

I know God is capable of anger, jealousy, and judgment, but I think of my heavenly Father as having the same traits as my dad, who’s always been patient, kind, loving, and supportive.

As a parent, I can relate to what I believe God feels towards His children.

Even though my daughters are all in their early to mid-twenties, I still worry about them. I want to protect them from harm and I desire only what’s best for them.

The other day one of the girls called in tears. It had been a horrible day. She’d worked hard to accomplish something important to her, but had failed. She was devastated. My heart ached for her and I wanted to reach through the phone and wrap my arms around her. But, as much as I wanted to fix it, I couldn’t.

While I drove home from work it hit me.
I breathed out, “Wow…”

As I grieved over my daughter’s heartbreak, I realized that God feels the same when I blow it, am deeply hurt, or cry for help.

I believe His heart aches as much – perhaps more - when I’m disappointed, discouraged, stressed, frustrated, or in pain.

Just as I need to let my daughters handle things on their own, our heavenly Father must sit back at times so we can grow in maturity and character. He could “fix it” for us in a blink of an eye. He chooses not to out of desire for us to become courageous and stand strong on our own two feet.

That’s real love…

Dawn