REFLECTIONS
June 21, 2009
 
 
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
1 John 3:1
 
 
Lesson from Daddy
 
The summer days were hot and the air was often filled with dust. Weed pollen irritated my eyes and nose, while the job I had taxed my small body to its physical limits. It was not the first summer I had worked for my dad’s company. In previous summers the plant manager, seeking to find meaningful work for the boss’s son, assigned me odd jobs around the plant like cleaning floors and painting small items.
This particular summer though, my boss gave me jobs that were important. I rotated between a position that began the production process and one that completed it. The first position was a dirty one that aggravated my allergies, but the second position was physically difficult for me. As product came off the production line, I packaged it and stacked the packages on pallets. The packages weighed about 40 pounds each, so after a few hours my muscles strained to get the work done.
Lunchtime never came too soon. Daddy would drive me home for lunch, but a few minutes rest seemed more important than the meal. Then all too soon Daddy would be nudging me to get up and go back to work. Once I refused to go.
That day I told him that I was just too tired and that I wasn’t going back. I remember the stern look on his face as he turned to leave without me, but I don’t remember him arguing with me over it. After he left I tried to rest, but I knew I had done wrong. Shortly, I asked Mom to take me back to work. Little did I know that a lesson from Daddy was waiting.
When I walked into the plant, there was my dad, his back to the door, doing my job. I had never seen him do that kind of work at the plant before. But there he was standing in for me. He didn’t ask anyone else to do it. He did it himself. It was then I realized that my job was important. I had not stopped to think about that. I only thought of myself. But there was a stronger lesson. Even when I let him down Daddy loved me enough to take my place.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Even when we let him down, God loves us enough to take our place. That’s the depth of a father’s love.
And that was my lesson from Daddy.
 
“You are the light of the world.”
RichardÌ


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