We probably talk about it more than most because we refuse to purchase a minivan. [We certainly don't have anything against minivans or their drivers, we simply hope that by refusing to buy one we can maintain the facade that we are a cool and young hip couple driving an awesome SUV, meanwhile 56 children and their respective belongings are squished in the backseat.] Each of our SUVs has a carseat for all 3 of the kids, and Megan's carseat in particular happens to be a different brand/model in each car. She hates one and loves the other. Since she rides in my truck most often, the one she loves is in my car. Somehow through the course of normal management of life logistics, the one she hates ended up in my car. Every day when I'd pick her up from daycare she would lament over her frustration with this carseat and couldn't she PLEASE have the one she liked back from Daddy's car. This went on for weeks, but never quite made it to the top of my priority list to actually swap carseats. One day as I was getting her in the car post daycare pick-up I noticed the brown carseat (her favorite one) was back in my car. She was smiling ear to ear. I asked her how she got her beloved brown carseat back and her response was clear and confident 'because I asked him to.' Her response...that phrase...it nearly knocked me over.
BECAUSE I ASKED HIM TO.
She had complete and total confidence in her daddy's desire to do what she asked him. Her answer to me almost had a tone of 'duh...of course he did what I asked him to?' This was several weeks ago, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
When it comes to dads. I married up. No other way to put it. When I'm tired and frazzled and just simply not in the mood, I have to work really hard not to act annoyed or be snippy with our kids. Not my husband. He's the kind of dad who is sweaty and filthy working in the yard and as soon as he sees his daughters run out to see what he's up to they are greeted with an enthusiastic 'Hey Baby!' I've often marveled at this, and hoped my children would grow up knowing how lucky they are to have a Daddy who doesn't just tolerate their existence, or responsibly parent them, but who truly DELIGHTS in them. No matter how tired he is, he makes time for stories, for teaching piano, for silliness, for horsey rides, and all sorts of shenanigans. He loves them and they are sure of his love and confident in his desire to care for them.
It's Father's Day tomorrow...
To my baby daddy, I am eternally grateful for the way you love our babies. And I am profoundly thankful that in the way you love our babies, you are also painting a picture that reminds me in so many ways of the love God has for His children, more specifically - me.
Back to the carseat. That particular day, hearing my Megan give her emphatic answer of 'because I asked him to' was a total Holy Spirit nudge moment. What, in my life, should I be referencing the same way. What could it look like if I pursued a relationship with my Heavenly Father in the same way my daughters treasure every moment with their dad. What if I prayed with the same level of confidence and expectancy that my daughter felt when she asked something of her dad; sure of his love for her and his desire to give her good things.
~If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:11~
