from fathers to daughters

Just these past few days, I’ve watched a number of father-daughter exchanges. I went to Greg and Cami’s wedding and watched the father daughter dance. I hung out with Becca’s sisters (5 in all) and then met their dad. I went to church today and watched a father baptize his daughter. I feel like I witnessed another exchange sometime in the week but I can’t seem to recall it right now.

The point is, I really think one of the most moving things is the relationship between a father and his daughter. So lately I’ve been thinking of what it’d be like to have a daughter. What would I say to my daughter if I knew I was either going to go away for a long time or go meet the Lord. If she was still a kid, I’d try really hard to tell her the Gospel. But I don’t know if I’d make it simpler than it really is. I was standing in the elevator today and thinking maybe I’d say something like this:

“hey kiddo, listen close, we don’t have much time. You’re a sinner, you’ve done a lot of bad things, you’re not perfect, nobody is, you’re dad isn’t either. But God still loves you, loves me too. That’s why He told his son Jesus to take the punishment for both our sins by dying on the cross a long time ago. See? since Jesus paid for our sins we can live this life with Him watching over us and even after we die He’ll take us to a really beautiful place called Heaven. can you believe it? he paid for you, even when you hurt Him really bad all those times you stole, said mean things, were angry… That’s how much he cares. God made you, so He really loves you. More than anyone. More than your mom, more than me. But if you want to be with Him you need to let Him take you where He wants you to go. You need to trust Him. If you trust Him he will take care of you. He will take care of everything. If you love Him and run to Him, he will carry you. I won’t be here forever, neither will mom. But God will. And if you follow Him to the end, I promise I’ll meet you when you get there.”

it’s not perfect I know. It feels disconnected when you can’t explain things. But I think it’ll work. I’ll keep working on it and maybe when parenthood comes around I’ll be ready.