Undercover Pastor

I was just holding my 6-week-old daughter in my arms.  It was actually a pretty special moment.  She was almost smiling as she gazed into Daddy’s eyes.  But then she started to get sleepy.  And she hadn’t had her pink eye drops yet.  So I held little Lydia as her mother dosed her with the drops.  She screamed and cried for a long time.  I felt bad.  I knew that Lydia needed the drops to be healthy, but I also knew that they were painful for her.

I believe that God must have the same experience.

“My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves the one he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12

I wouldn’t bother to give Lydia drops if I didn’t care about her well-being.  And God wouldn’t bother to discipline and teach us unless he loved us…  It’s no fun, but it helps to know that it comes from love.  Some day, Lydia will understand that too.

Our daughter Lydia arrived in an unexpected way (surprise!)  When we arrived at the hopsital for the scheduled c-section – a bit disappointed – we learned that Eleanor was far enough along that they could induce labor after all.  (We thought that was impossible because she had had a previous c-section.)  Sixteen and a half hours later, the baby was born.

She’s a great kid, and I look forward to getting to know her better.  I definitely have a lot of lessons to learn as the father of a daughter.  (She didn’t come with a manual.)