When Dad Steps In

God gave me the blessing as a child to be raised by loving parents.  My parents were always there for me, but they raised me in a way looking to a future when I would be required to stand on my own feet.  My mum used to tell us she expected us to be married someday, but she raised us to be bachelors with the ability to cook, clean, and make good financial decisions.  My dad saw to it I knew how to mow the lawn, wash cars, and do an oil change myself.  I don't recall ever asking my parents for money, and it likely is because they taught me if I wanted money there was work I could do to earn it and be disciplined to save it myself.

Though my parents taught me to be independent, it was always in the context of being dependent upon God for strength, provision, and wisdom.  My parents continued to be involved in my life as I grew up but never were what I would consider meddlesome.  If I had a conflict with others they did not insert themselves to protect me.  They weren't interested to make excuses for my bad choices but promptly administered discipline.  There were times when my dad warned me if I made poor decisions which resulted in me being arrested or going to prison, "Don't think I will post bail."  He would rather the judge "throw the book" at me to bring me to my senses rather than enable me to continue along the path of folly.

Recent circumstances reminded me of a rare time when my dad stepped into a unjust situation on my behalf.  I had not been treated fairly by a baseball coach whom I had known for years.  I was benched game after game, and I tried to stay as positive as possible.  This was only one time among many baseball politics had given me a bitter pill to swallow.  I did my best to end the conflict between my coach and I, but things only seemed to grow worse.  Finally my dad stepped in to defend me.  It was one of those memorable moments of tangible evidence my dad loved me.  He saw I was unable to defend myself from injustice and he believed it was time for him to step in.  I have never forgotten how he boldly faced conflict and in a moment simply brought it to an end - a conflict I for months had been trying to deal with myself.

It occurred to me as children of God we can keep conflicts or hurt feelings to ourselves.  I did this for a long time.  It was only after I talked about the situation with my dad he stepped in and handled what I could not.  He helped me find resolution and a way out of the mess.  What a difference it made when Dad stepped in!  I wonder how many times we have not spoken to our Heavenly Father about our struggles and trials.  Often we do our best to but fail to solve personal issues when what we really need is for our Father to step in and save us.  When God steps in, we don't need to yell over His shoulder or grin smugly like a spoiled brat because we have manipulated the situation.  He will we remain disciplined and justice will be done.  How blessed we are to have a Father who loves us and will step into our lives to bring comfort and resolution when we do not know the way.  Why don't you invite your Heavenly Father to do this for you now?