God never says . . .

Since we just celebrated Father's Day, I thought I'd share about my dad. Daddy is a no nonsense kind of parent. As I was growing up, even though he was strict, I could always count on him to be fair. When I asked questions, he would give thoughtful answers. When I said I didn't understand something, he would explain.   When I disobeyed, I suffered consequences. If he told me something, I knew I could count on it and that it was always truthful to the best of his knowledge. He always told me that anyone who would lie to me in little things would lie to me about anything. That's just one of many sayings that have proven his wisdom to me over the years.

After I had children, I realized there were a few things that Daddy never said. I always thought that I was 'just like my dad.' Then, one day as I was responding in frustration to one of our little angels that was being disobedient, it dawned on me that my parenting style had become much different from my dad's. At that moment I realized that there were three things I had never heard come out of my daddy's mouth.
     1. I'm going to count to three . . .
When Daddy spoke to me, I knew I'd better respond. There was no counting and waiting for me to get around to answering.
     2. And I mean it!
If he said it, he meant it. And we knew it.
     3. I'm not going to tell you again!
He didn't have to. We knew he meant it the first time!

Anyway, I'm very thankful for my earthly father and the example he set for me. Much of what I understand about God began with my dad. But I've come to appreciate something about my heavenly father in a whole new perspective over the last few months. Through an extremely difficult time in my family and days that I never, ever want to repeat, I've learned to walk in the assurance that God is never caught off guard. Our lives may be turned upside down. Our hopes may be dashed to pieces. Our plans may be buried in the dust. We may experience hurt that is so deep that we truly think we may die. But we can always know with complete confidence that there is definitely one thing God NEVER says. 'WOW! I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!'

He knows every hair on our head. He created every cell of our body, every drop of our DNA. He knew who we were before we were even thought about by any human. He knew where we were yesterday, where we would be today, and what tomorrow holds for us. Time is irrelevant to him. He was. He is. He always will be.

And he loves us. Oh, how he loves us. Passionately. Perfectly.

Psalm 139:16 (NLT) You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

What ever you are going through, rest in the peace that God is already there. He will carry you through.

Blessings,
Renea