You always hear that saying: “Daddy’s little girl”, and it just fits, doesn’t it?  No matter how grown up I am, I’ve heard that told to me different times over the years “You’re daddy’s little girl”.  The older I get, the more I am proud to be “daddy’s little girl”.

Dad, I know over the years, you’ve had your good and not-so good times, your ups and downs of life, but you know what?  We all have, we’re human.  But to realize the wrongs we’ve done, and to strive each day to do better, that’s what’s important, and dad you have done just that.  With Father’s Day around the corner, I just wanted to dedicate this BLOG to you to let you know how much I love you and how much I appreciate who you are.  I’d like for you to realize what you’ve taught me, the memories I have of you, and the things I see in me, that I see in you.

First I just want to say “thank you” for bringing laughter into my life.  I’ve had a tendency to be too serious in life, but one of your greatest gifts is to help others laugh, and what joy that has brought to my heart and soul.  You have no idea, how this one gift of yours has meant so much to me throughout my life.  Thank you!

Along with the blessings of laughter you’ve brought to my life, you’ve also taught me many great things.  You taught me to work hard, and to know that life isn’t just handed to me.  You taught me to ask for what I want, knowing the worse thing anyone can say is “no” — but if I don’t ask, I probably won’t receive.  You taught me the importance of providing praise and encouragement to others and how important it makes them feel.  One of the many wonderful memories I have are of you doing this, especially to those who have the least and are usually just passed by every day.  For example, I remember as a young adult, we were in the hospital visiting someone, and as we walked down the hallway, we passed the janitor cleaning up a mess, and you stopped and looked him in the eye and said: “Thank you for cleaning up the mess, you are doing a great job!”  You could just see his eyes glowing after you told him that.  Or the young lady at the restaurant, working really hard, running around, and serving others, and when she got to our table you’d say something like: “I’ve been watching you and you’re doing such a great job serving others, thanks for your service.”  You could see that just made herday, and you could see her serving with her shoulders back and head held high.  WOW dad, that alone speaks volumes of what a wonderful man and human being you are.

Other things you’ve shown me is your dedication to your faith, and how you’ve given of yourself over the years to help and encourage others to find a peace that only God can provide.  The gift of faith, encouragement, and enthusiasm of God’s word, along with the power of prayer, has touched more lives than you’ll ever realize.  I am friends on Facebook with some of those who have been touched by you in so many ways over the years, whether it was you bringing forth God’s word to encourage, motivate, inspire or challenge them, or going to the hospitals to pray with and encourage those who were ill, they have written of their appreciation for you and what you’ve given them. 

The dedication to go forth into all of the world as Christ has commanded, going to India two different times to spread God’s word is something I commend you for doing.  The long exhausting flights, the big change in the time zones, giving up the comforts of home for a third world country that is so poverished, where you touched thousands of lives, and made a difference forever, some for eternity.

And how you’ve shown me your courage and willingness to do whatever it takes through your battle since having a stroke in 2010.  You fought back physically, with a positive mental attitude like I’ve never seen, and when things didn’t get back to how you expected them to get, through your discouragement, through your battle of patience with this new life you’ve been dealt, you again have come through with such greatness.  Just like David who God called: “the man after His own heart”, when writing the Psalm, many times over and over, David begged and pleaded to God, he’d cry out to God and say things like: “God have you left me?”, “God, where are you?”….then as he continued writing, he started claiming God’s promises, trusting in Him….and ending his Psalm with glory and praise to our God Almighty — that my dear daddy — is You!!  Just like David in the Psalm, it’s a process we all must go through in our lives through the battles we fight.  We can’t always stay on top, we may feel down and depressed, but going to God’s word for hope, promises and peace, and surrendering it all to Him, will bring us to the end with a peace and joy to glorify and praise our Almighty God.  You have a tendency to be too hard on yourself, wanting to beat yourself up for being down and depressed, but please realize the man of God’s own heart was there many times, the point is, he didn’t stay there, and neither have you.  You’re amazing and I love you for your fight, strength and courage, and your acceptance of where you are in life and offering it to God to use as you trust in Him.

So what are some of the things I see in me, that I see in you?  First, is that I am too hard on myself just like you are, it’s definitely a challenge for me too.  Second, is our challenge to try and stay balanced, always going full force, giving it all we’ve got, not having an off button, but then crashing — but we both do recognize this and are working towards balance a little more each day.    Our minds also tend to run a mile a minute, day and night — I’ve heard this is a sign of great intelligence 🙂  — It can actually be good with many great thoughts and ideas, but it can also have the tendency to go towards anxiety, worry and fear, which we both tend to battle.  Over the years we have chosen to see things with a positive attitude, encouraging one another to surrender our anxiety, worry and fear to God by claiming His promises, such as 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, love and a sound mind.”, as well as Psalm 4:8 “In PEACE I will lie down and sleep, for YOU ALONE, O Lord, will keep me safe”.  And we rise each morning claiming Psalm 91, which is known as the Psalm of Safety and also the Soldier’s Psalm, as well as Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made, I will REJOICE and be GLAD in it.”  Third, is our love of living in the state of Florida, the bright blue skies, glowing warm sun, the massage on our feet when walking on the sand, and hearing the waves of the ocean, and feeling the breeze blow across our face, and seeing it brush through the palm trees, what a wonderful and beautiful state we have been blessed to live in.   Fourth is our love for knowledge and education, loving to research and learn more all of the time.  Fifth is loving to love others and provide words of encouragement and praise.  Last, and most importantly is our strong faith in a living God, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  The God who loved us so much, even in our deepest sin, that He sent His one and only son to die on the cross, and to resurrect, alive and well, so that we may be with Him again for eternity.  That makes my heart sing, because one of the other things I see in me, that I see in you, is our love to dance, and one day, in eternity, we will be together forever, no more pain or hurts, no more sorrow or worry, no more anxiety or fear,  and no more sadness or tears — I say it’s going to be the biggest, longest party there ever was — worshiping our loving, almighty God, being reunited with family and friends, dancing and rejoicing, filled with laughter, fun and joy!!!  Oh what an amazing time we will have FOREVER 🙂

So my dear daddy-o, the next time you catch yourself being to hard on yourself, please remember this BLOG, and know that you have given so much to so many, with your words of laughter, hope, encouragement and praise over the years, you’ve not only touched our lives at the moment you gave those things, but they remain in our hearts and become part of our memories and who we are forever.

Also, please realize life is a process, and God’s word has all of the answers.  If we will just surrender everything to our Almighty–Living–All-Wise–All-Powerful–Loving God, who is our firm foundation, we will be able to rejoice and praise Him in all curcumstances of life, trusting in Him as He knows what’s best for us, and will provide that for us, if we will surrender and relax in Him.

I thank God He has given me such a wonderful, loving, courageous father who fills my life with laughter.  Please know you are such an AWESOME gift from God, and I thank Him daily for the relationship we have.  Happy Father’s day dad!

Love,

Jackie,

“daddy’s little girl”