My dad came to Nashville last week just to visit. It was wonderful to have him
close.
But this morning I miss him.
People are drawn to Dad, understandably. He listens incredibly well. With a warm smile and engaging eyes, he
inspires transparent chats from complete strangers, open discussions from
people he's never seen before.
I've seen it happen real time.
I don’t know if he knows this, but I derive a sort of
healing quality from being with him.
I’m OK with who I am around him.
And from what my father communicates to me, it’s OK to be who I am.
The other night Lauren Hennessy, one of my favorite
youngsters at church, got up on stage with her guitar and with the purest,
nasally bluegrass tone sang: “’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And
grace my fears relieved . . .” These are the kind of exposed
lyrics that when married with it’s gaelic melody and a child's voice, conjures
the Holy Ghost. And sends chills
down my spine.
It was the grievous
realization of Christ's sacrifice that first instilled in me fear of God. And it was my decision to surrender to
salvation through the graciousness of Christ's cross that shredded the veil of
sin and reconciled my heart to the heart of my Father - that said it's OK to be
who I am.
To my father, and fathers everywhere – Happy Father’s
Day. Thank you for working to
relieve our fears in this temporary divide before the Father of us all rids
this night of anxiety with days of grace.
"Let
everyone know how gentle you are.
The Lord is coming soon.
Don't worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything . . .
Then God's peace will watch over your hearts and your minds because you belong
to Christ Jesus. God's peace can never be completely understood" -
Philippians 4:5-7
andrew
*It’s true. It
happened. Thanks to someone else
(!) I’m on
facebook. Click
here.
**Thank you once again to my sweet songwriter friend
Cindy Morgan for stirring creativity, conversation and wonderful spirit in the studio.