Words from Daddy…

I recently celebrated a birthday – it was a BIG one. And no, I’m not going to reveal my age since it will not add to or take away from the story. But I will say that my dad is 92 years old, so I’m no spring chick. He’s very hard of hearing at this stage in his life, and we can no longer communicate over the phone. With a distance of 400 miles between us, I don’t get to visit as often as I’d like to. When we spoke on my birthday he was unable to understand anything I said to him.

But a few days later I received a FaceTime call from him. Very surprising since he doesn’t use the computer. I’ll be the first to admit that I really don’t like FaceTime calls. I don’t like people seeing me while I talk (don’t judge me, there are plenty of people who feel the same way). But when I saw where the call was coming from I didn’t hesitate to answer. There was my dad with only half of his face showing (too cute for words). He could see me and it seemed to help him understand what I was saying. But the thing that captured me most was the moment we were saying “good bye” and ending the call. His last words to me were “you look beautiful”. I get teary eyed writing this. I don’t know if I have ever heard those words from my dad. Even at my age it made me feel so special and so empowered. I have played them over and over in my head today.

If you’re reading this and you’re a dad, please take the time to look your daughter in her eyes (if she’s close by) and tell her that she’s beautiful, that you’re proud of her or how thankful you are that you’re her dad. Believe me, she will never be too young or too old to hear words of affirmation from you, her daddy.

It is my strong belief that we learn about our Heavenly Father from our earthly father. I love it when my Abba Father whispers in my ear that I am His beloved and He delights in me. I love that He “rejoices over me with singing”.  There is nothing like a father’s love… so stop reading already and go tell her.