How being a Daddy hepls me understand my Heavenly Daddy.

This is another re-post but it’s the perfect weekend to re-release it. There are a few minor changes but it pretty much is the same post that I released back in Dec ’08.It was written right after Sasha, our youngest, was born. I don't think I let Kesha edit it just because I wanted to show the rawness of it all. Enjoy.

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I’m having a tough time putting this into proper words. I’m not an author, never tried to be. Like I said in my 1st blog entry, I always did better in Gym class then Grammar. My old pastor in Iowa once said he loved the way I wrote articles for our Youth Paper; he said the way I wrote was just like as if I was talking to you in person. I don’t know if that was a compliment or a slight suggestion for me to take a creative writing class. He once said that he admired how I showed my wife love by being willing to be late for church. I think that was his way of telling me to be on time. Anyway below is the best I could do for the moment. Maybe one day I’ll take that writing class so I can express the following better.

Sasha Grace was born on Wednesday Dec 3rd, 2008. She’s the newest Buster born into this wonderful world. She came out at 10:14am. Kesha had a pretty short labor, a little less then 4 hours but it seemed like it lasted forever. Kesha is such a Wonder Woman. The last few minutes before 1014 I felt the craziest, coolest rush that I’ve only felt one other time, that would be when Saige was born. I remember Kesha bearing down and pushing with all she had. I remember how my heart felt, forget that, I remember how my whole chest felt. It was ready to explode. When Sasha’s head popped out there was an extreme amount of emotions flooding all over me. I was ready to cry, laugh, shout, jump, or whatever all at the same time. I remember hearing her cry for the first time. WOW. Being a parent is so awesome. There are so many “WOW” moments involved with being a parent. The birthing process has to be right up there as one of the best “WOW” moments.

The Sunday following Sasha’s birth I ran Saige up to church. Our church (at the that time) was about 35 minutes away so I had a lot of thinking time on my hands. On the way I was reflecting on the whole birth process and the emotions that go with it. My thoughts switched from how I felt on that magical Wednesday to how God must feel about the whole Spiritual birthing process. What does God feel in the moments right before He knows we are about to pray the salvation prayer? Is His chest ready to explode? Are there tears of excitement gushing out of His eyes? I don’t remember the exact day that I prayed the salvation prayer but I bet He had all that stuff going on, but I wonder if He remembers it with such fondness as I do with both of my daughters’ births. Sure He does. Jesus gave us a glimpse into the character of our Heavenly daddy when He told the story of the prodigal son. The whole parable is found in Luke 15:11-32. I’m not going to type all of it out here; you can go back and read that for yourselves. I just want to point out one verse. In this verse you see God’s parental emotions in full effect. You see His love and anticipation for us. I know this is a story about a son returning from his mistakes but I believe the reaction of a loving parent is all the same. In verse 20 there are 5 words that stick out further then any other words in all of Luke 15:11-32. Those 5 words are “He ran to His son”.

I don’t remember the exact day in 79 when I was born again/spiritually born. I know I was about 5. It was at Westside Assembly of God. Pastor Barnett gave the alter call but it was my dad that prayed the salvation prayer with me. I remember I raised my hand and the preacher called all those who did so to come to the front. When I started to go my dad jumped out to go with me. I was thinking that it looked like my dad was answering the alter call. I knew that was not the case but I didn’t want every one else thinking that he was. Dad didn’t care; he was going up with his boy to lead him/me to Christ. My dad will always be a hero to me for what he did that day. Like I said, I don’t remember the exact day in 79. When your 5 growing up in church you answer about every alter call, but one alter call sticks out the most to me. I do remember December 6th 1996. For about 4 years after high school I ran from the things of God. My life pretty much resembled the prodigal son. That December Sunday morning at East Coast Christian Center in Merritt Island Florida I gave my life back to Christ. I remembered the way I cried, much like a new born: snotty nose and all. Luke 15:20 tells me how my Heavenly Daddy reacted on Dec 6th 1996 around 11am. “He ran…”

1 comment:

Joanna said...

Good post, Jimmy! I, too, have learned numerous lessons about my relationship with the Lord since becoming a parent. I see Him more as the Father now - full of unconditional love for His children - quick to forgive and full of mercy and grace. Thanks for sharing! Joey