Daddy's Girl

There was an aquarium in my first grade classroom that contained an odd assortment of fish and one snail.  One day, the aquarium sprung a leak.  We had to do something quick or else our fish were doomed, along with the lone snail.  So Mrs. Barker deviated from the schedule on the wall, ignored our spelling lesson, and rounded up a bunch of jars in all shapes and sizes. She took the little net that we had never had occasion to use and scooped up the fish one at a time and transferred them to their temporary homes.  I volunteered to have Daddy fix the aquarium.  Mrs. Barker called our house and told him how much she appreciated his willingness to repair our aquarium and wanted to know the best way to get it to him.  That was how he found out that I had volunteered him for the job.  After that, I started telling him so he wouldn’t be surprised if my teacher happened to call.

I was always volunteering him for something.  I didn’t see any problem at all with that.  After all, I was convinced that Daddy could do anything and I was perfectly willing to offer his help.  He made a gerbil habitat and a bookshelf.  He repaired a bench, a small footstool, a coat rack, and a globe that fell apart because Albert wanted to see how fast it could spin.  And, of course, he fixed the aquarium.  When I said that he would fix our coat rack, my teacher said, “That would be an imposition.”  I had no idea what an imposition was.  It sounded kind of important, though, and I figured it would be quite an honor.  

Daddy never complained.  After I grew up, I asked him why he never told me to just stop.  He said that it seemed important to me and he didn’t really mind the work, so he just kept on helping.  Plus, he was kind of fascinated by all the things I thought he could do.  I just laughed and then he said, “I wasn’t going to let you down.”  And he never did.

In June of 2004, Daddy died.  There are so many things he has missed in the past eight years – so many things that I know he would have enjoyed.   But I will always be thankful that he missed out on my cancer.  It would have been harder for him that it has been for me. 

And I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who can fix anything, too.  I am so thankful for His healing, His care, and His comfort.  It is hard for me to imagine that God loves me infinitely more than Daddy did.  Happy Father’s Day to both of my fathers.  I have always been a Daddy’s Girl.

You've kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, Each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.  Psalm 56:8

The Right Teacher

 Mama got her driver’s license when my brother was about to start first grade.  The plan was that Daddy would teach her and she’d be out driving in no time.

There were a few glitches from the beginning.  Mama was short, so she had to sit on something to be tall enough to drive comfortably.  I offered the use of my pillow, but she opted for what Daddy called a “driving cushion.”  Problem solved.

Then there was her shoes.  Turns out that Mama had heard some awful story about a woman who caused a fiery crash by getting the heel of her shoe caught in the accelerator.  She decided to drive barefooted.  Second problem solved.  (I drive without shoes to this day.  You can’t be too careful.)

So, then the real fun started.  My brother and I would get in the back seat.  Mama was perched on her driving cushion, barefooted, with the seat pulled up all the way.  Daddy sat on the passenger side with his knees under his chin.

The lessons were always short.  Mama couldn’t follow Daddy’s directions.  Daddy sat with one hand holding the dashboard and one hand gripping the back of the seat.  He did not inspire confidence.  Every lesson ended with Mama and Daddy swapping seats and Daddy driving us back home.  Even I knew there had to be a better way, and Mama was determined to find it.  The plan in place had disaster written all over it.

Mama always liked to play Bingo and she and Daddy would sometimes go play at the Air Force base.  Mama won some money, bought some driving lessons with her ill-gotten gains, and soon had a license to drive.  Those lessons were one of the very few times when we were left with a babysitter.  The driving instructor refused to let us go along.  I told him that I wasn’t scared, but it didn’t change his mind.  I offered my services to alert Mama about any upcoming red lights.  He was not persuaded.  We stayed home with the babysitter.

That whole combination of student and teacher can be so critical.  It can be the difference between succeeding or not.  Mama and Daddy were a wonderful pair for almost everything, but not when it came to Mama learning how to drive.

There is a Teacher who is is always the right one, though.  With God as our guide and teacher, we can’t have a better combination.  Our job is to listen, to learn, to grow, to obey.  If we do that – and it isn’t all that easy at times – we are guaranteed success in the life God has planned for us.

Don’t miss your blessing!  Your Teacher is ready and willing.  It’s up to you to show up for the lesson.  Pray, read the Bible, participate in Bible study, listen for God’s voice.  We’ve got a lot to learn!

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8