More than anyone in the world, I love my dad. I am most
grateful to him for three things: for his protection, for helping me develop in
my role as a woman, and for calling me to be faithful. I know that through him
my heavenly Father’s loving hands are molding me.
My dad has protected me by making and enforcing rules. I was
angry for a long time about having a curfew. It was embarrassing to be the
first among my friends to leave, especially if I wasn’t even the youngest in
the crowd. It felt unfair.
But his enforcement of a curfew served to protect me when,
during a period of backsliding, I was spending more time than was prudent with
unbelievers from college. I know that in at least one instance, his enforcement
of my curfew protected me from what could have escalated into a scary and
sinful incident. I am grateful for my dad’s protection. Only in heaven will we
know the extent to which I was spared from many falls and dangers thanks to
him.
My dad helps me develop in my role as a woman by requiring
me to submit to him and to prioritize the home.
By requiring me to submit to his authority with the curfew
and other everyday things, my dad is teaching me to submit to a future husband,
if it should please the Lord for me to marry. To submit to my dad means dying
to self in that instant. It means honoring him when I would much rather do what
I want to do. It means aligning my agenda with his, to pursue the good of the
family rather than self-interest.
Dying to self, showing honor, and pursuing the good of the
family are crucial if we want to build a family that is God-honoring and useful
to the Kingdom. Absence of these things in a family means we will waste time
struggling for headship and fighting to get our way. I am so grateful to be
learning to submit in preparation for family life. And more than that, I learn
to submit to the Lord by submitting to my dad.
He also calls me to prioritize the home. When I spend too
much time (and money) hanging out with friends to the neglect of my duties at
home, Dad calls me to set my priorities straight. He requires of me that I
fulfill my duty to my family wholeheartedly. He challenges me to sacrifice my
self-interest in order to be diligent where the Lord has me. He calls me to
invest in the present and future good of my family.
My dad also calls me to be faithful. He himself is an
example of faithfulness, committing to finish what he has begun in life, even
when things do not turn out as he would like. When I graduated from high school
my dad advised me to seek work that I could do just until I marry and have
children. But I insisted on going to college. When, more than halfway through,
I wanted to quit and adopt his original plan for me, he told me that I must face
the consequences of my actions and follow through with what I've started. Graciously,
he lessened my burden by allowing me to switch majors. Now I am finishing my
final semester at Sac State and am grateful to him because I love marketing and
because I am learning to be faithful.
I am so grateful to the Lord for His kindness in giving me a
dad who shepherds my soul in this way. I fail often. But the Lord is gracious.
He is faithful to complete the work that He has started in me.
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