Week Seven

      As I write this Father's Day is quickly approaching. It is a bitter- sweet time. My father died several years ago, and my father-in-law died less than a year ago. I remember buying three Mother's Day cards just a month ago (mother, mother-in-law, and stepmother) now I have to remind myself that I only need to buy one Father's Day card for my stepfather. I have never felt less like a son, and more like a father (and grandfather).
    And then I am comforted by the reality that my Heavenly Father is ever with me, He has been, and will always be, alive. And my eternal life is wrapped up in His eternity. The Psalmist wrote to the Heavenly Father, "Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings." (Psalms 17:8) The apple of God's eye—His favorite, that makes me feel special. I know, you think you are His you are right also.
    Any parent who has more than one child will tell you that each and every one of their children is their favorite, and they are telling you the fruth. Each is equally your favorite because they are unique in their spirit, in their gifts, in their personality, in their relationships, and in their needs. Your relationship with each is precious—each one is indeed 'the apple of your eye' without diminishing the love you have for each of the others. Whether you have three children, or you are the Father of all creation, you can say, and they can know, that you are the 'apple of God's eye'.
    And when I feel a little lonely and empty, I remember that I am still sheltered under the shadow of my Heavenly Father's wings. I am safe, and I am loved, and I am a son--a child of God. Whatever else is going on in my life, wherever I go in my life, I am a child of God.
    "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?.. ...I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35, 38-39
Thank you, dad, for teaching me in your unique ways about my Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the gift of Your Son. It feels good to be loved,
                                      Blessings Prayers and Love,
                                             Bro Tom and Sister Sue