Daddy

This poem was first published four years ago, on June 16, 2012.
This poem can also be found in my book, Whispers In Verse.
May the words be a blessing as Father’s Day approaches.

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The first word each of us ever say…
Dada, says it all.
A lifetime wrapped inside those sounds.
The first of many calls.

It’s time, she says, It’s finally here,
After a nine month wait.
The car keys ready, suitcase in hand.
The man who is never late.

And then his heart just melts away,
When first he sees his child.
No matter how rough and tumble he was,
He’s suddenly meek and mild.

The child’s so small in his large, strong arms,
Not weighing more than a feather.
But all at once, the two are now three.
A family, all together.

The first steps, unsteady across the floor.
The arms open wide to receive.
Little eyes so in love with this big, strong man.
The tug that will never leave.

Following behind, cutting the grass,
With a mower that cannot mow.
Retracing the footsteps his Daddy will walk,
Knowing the things that he knows.

The first day of school, get on the bus.
A lump forms down deep in his throat.
The backpack so big, the sneakers so new.
Was it chilly enough for a coat?

The baseball, the football, the soccer games,
Ballet, gymnastics, and more.
Time spent in the car, a glance in the mirror.
They have grown like never before.

High school and college, cars filled with bins,
Carrying all that they own.
A dorm room, a meal plan, a tug in his heart.
How could he feel so alone?

He worked hard for them all so they would soon soar.
That’s what it has been all about.
No one ever said it would be quite this hard,
When they were no longer about.

The questions, the wonder: Did I do enough?
Did they mind when I wasn’t there?
Should I have hugged more, or showed them my tears?
Did they really know that I cared?

Then one day a wedding, no longer a child,
Beginning a life of their own.
So many things new, so much stays the same.
A new place, their own, to call home.

Dad, can you come? Dad, what do you think?
Dad, did I do this right?
Just wanted to check, ’cause what you did for us…
You seemed to do everything right.

The nursery window, a new life to love.
A family resemblance so true.
Thank you, Dad, for all that you did.
I am so very grateful to you.

As the circle completes, the man is the child.
Needing time and attention and care.
It will be easy to do when the time finally comes,
For the man that always was there.

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Fathers.
Our Lord Jesus has a Father.
In fact, at the moment of deep anguish in the garden, Jesus cried out to Him like a child.

Abba, Father, He said, everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will. (Mark 14:36)

Abba.
It is comforting to me to know that Jesus needed His Father, too.
The God-man, who is the Word, used the most simple word to address His Father.
Jesus called His Father, Daddy.

Everyone needs a Daddy.
Whether relationships are strong or not, honor is to be given to our fathers.
God speaks of the relationship between fathers and children at the end of the Old Testament.

See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. (Malachi 4:5,6)

God cares deeply about fathers and their children.
The relationship between them is that important.
Fathers are that important.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads, and the Dads-to-be.
Happy Father’s Day to the men who stepped up to be “Dad” when our own father wasn’t there.
Happy Father’s Day to the spiritual Dads that mentored us when we needed a role model.
Thank you for your love and your sacrifice.

Thank you, Heavenly Father for being the perfect Daddy to us.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by Him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15,16)