My Dad is the smartest most intelligent man I know. He is not only a good listener, but gives the best advice you could ask for. My Dad’s advice was something I missed a lot while he was gone. I know, I still could hear from him through Skype, e-mail and good ole’ Facebook, but it is just not the same as sitting down and having a face to face conversation with your Dad and listening to all of his wisdom.
Over my Spring Break I have come to realize something that happened over the last year that I am grateful for. Let’s just say that 2011 was not my best year. It held a lot of trials and heart ache for me and was a bit of a struggle to handle while my Dad was away. I longed to sit and talk with him about everything that was going on. However, the absence of my earthly father really challenged me to dig deeper in to my Bible and work on my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I know that if my Dad had been home over the last year that I would have went to him with all of my questions, concerns and worries. There is nothing wrong with that, but suddenly not having him there to go to made me truly rely on someone else. Because of my Dad’s absence, my relationship with my true Father is more intimate than it has ever been. Instead of running to Daddy and saying “fix it”, I went to God and prayed “God help me, because you know I need it!” God was truly my anchor and my stronghold when I needed Him the most. And even now when all is well and I feel good about where I am in life, God is still my best friend. It made me think of Romans 8:28 “And we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Even though having my Dad gone for an entire year may have seemed like a crummy situation, it all ended up holding a lot of good for me, because I was challenged to not take the easy route out and have someone else solve my problems for me, but to do it on my own and to build up my relationship with God and to rely on Him in a way I had never had to before. God works in amazing ways doesn’t He?
