Dad

Yesterday afternoon some of our JIFF ladies were in the office practicing EV2 (evangelism training) and afterwards I asked some of them to tell me about their dads. I heard stories of heroes, humble farmers, wayward dads, grandfathers stepping in when there was no dad, stories mostly of good decent men. They shared with me a song "dance with dad" and I shared with them the song "I danced with Cinderella." What is it about dads and daughters? They are our cinderellas, our Snow Whites, our damsels in distress ... and when we fail to protect them, rescue them, or avenge them we feel like such failures. When they were young it was easy to save them from a scary spider or to soothe them after a bad tumble, but life has so many evils awaitting. And when your child, your princess experiences them, your only thought is "I didn't do enough to prepare her, to protect her."

And then your daughters grow up, and as adults they see you not with little girl eyes but with grown up eyes. They see your failures and weaknesses. They notice that your armor is tarnished and what they thought was your white horse is only a donkey. They realize that you were often self-absorbed, and not always there for them. They discover your sin and your selfishness. They see you for who you really are, and
     
                                                they love you anyway.