[Discoveries] 04-26-07 Finding refuge in Him

[Inspiration in Your Inbox]

/*Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. -- Psalm 
63:7*/

God has given me the great privilege and awesome responsibility to be a 
father to two sons and two daughters.

One day my youngest, then seven, came into my office crying. Through her 
sobs I could make out that she and her brother were fighting, that it 
seemed to her that her mom had taken her brother's side.

As a father and as a man working out of my home office, I have several 
choices.

I could have told her I was busy, that I had important work to do and 
she would need to talk to me later. Many dads would do that, arguing 
that she needs to learn that she's not the center of the universe.

I could tell her that her mom and I are one, that I'm going to take the 
same position that my wife took. Many dads would do that, understanding 
that children must not manipulate their parents and try to use one 
against the other.

I could have picked apart the situation and tried to arrive at who was 
to blame for the fight and what moral principles were broken to cause a 
fight. After all, I am the moral coach of my children; I need to teach 
them the difference between right and wrong.

I could have taught her some conflict management skills. Certainly, she 
will be navigating through conflict all her life -- she needs to learn 
those skills.

But I didn't do any of those things that day. Instead, I just held her, 
and rocked back and forth in my office chair. I sensed that this really 
wasn't about who was at fault in the fight, or about whether she was 
whining or interrupting or manipulating. Instead, this was a little girl 
asking her daddy where she stood in the universe. Was she important 
enough to be heard? Would someone bigger and stronger than her absorb 
all these overwhelming emotions that she felt and offer her gentle 
comfort and peace?

God, of course, is much, much better Father than I am. He always knows 
exactly what we need. Sometimes we go to Him bewildered by a life that 
suddenly got out of hand, too big, too scary, too unfair for us to 
manage. Sometimes we don't even know how to ask Him the question we need 
answered. But that's all right. He knows. He always knows what to do.

I held my daughter for three or four minutes. Pretty soon she was 
giggling about something. The storm was over. She hopped off my lap and 
went her way.

Be encouraged!
Dwight


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