father’s love | Life Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement by Jeff Davis

Yesterday was Father’s Day and many emotions were going through my mind. For starters, I came to the realization I had no concept of time until I became a parent! I still cannot believe my little girl is 17 months old!!! Also, over the weekend, I went to see the new Superman movie and it really impacted me for several reasons.

Firstly, I was able to take a young boy who was not my own and be a stand-in dad for a day and I honestly think I got more out of it than he did, even though he is still talking about how awesome it was.

Secondly, watching Kal-El (Superman) and Jor-El (Superman’s Father) willing to sacrifice all they had for those they loved really hit me. I realize the story is fictional, but God’s word tells us that there is no greater sacrifice than to lay down one’s life for another. Also, Jor-El sent his son to earth just like God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our hope and savior!

Thirdly, finding out the “S” on Superman’s chest was not really an “S.” On Krypton, it was the El-family crest which stood for hope; that really hit me. Last night, I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind because El is the divine suffix of God and the “S” I believe correlates to our “Savior” Jesus Christ who is our everlasting hope. Maybe I’m stretching it a little far and maybe I’m just a little emotional after celebrating Father’s Day, but there is something great about doing things for others and being a father to a fatherless generation.

Jesus and Superman had a lot in common. They were both persecuted and misunderstood and they both came to save the world and were both heroes. Of course, once again, Superman was a fictional character, but Jesus was not! I have been where he was born, I walked where He taught and saw where it is believed He was crucified. I even got to see where His tomb is and the thing that separates Jesus from every other deity is that Jesus was not in the tomb because He rose on the third day and is seated at the right hand of God!

This Father’s Day, I’m not only grateful to be a father; I’m eternally grateful for the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made to save us! He is the ultimate hero and example for the way we should live our lives.

There is something so marvelous about seeing the world through a child’s eyes. As I went in to wake Syd up this morning, she had the biggest smile on her face and I as looked into her beautiful blue eyes, every thought escaped my mind and all I could do was smile back at her. After I picked her up, I began to realize that she was not only happy to see me, but that she solely trusted me and cast all of her cares upon me and I began to wonder how better our lives would be if we did the same with our heavenly Father.

Due to the nature of our history with the NICU, I feel a tremendous bond with my little angel and I realize that she is more than I could ever have hoped for. God knew exactly what my heart longed for and he blessed me with a miracle that gives me such joy. During this painful chapter of our life, God showed up in a big way; He provided in ways not possible for me to and He interceded for me in a time where my own strength was not enough. Being a fixer, this was a very hard time, but in it I learned to trust God despite of all my inadequacies.

Every time the doctors would tell us something else was wrong, every time they told us we would have to stay another week, every time we had to sign another consent form to run more tests, I learned to trust God even more. The choice was up to me if I wanted to fight alone or if I was going to allow God to reach into my life. When we choose to give our situation to Him and we trust in Him alone, there is no limit to what He can do in and through us. Then it is up to us to give God all the praise and all the glory and to share with others the miraculous things that God has done. It doesn’t matter so much when this happens, but that it happens. Many of us fail to complete this last step and it is one that is vital to bringing glory to God and accomplishing His will. Recording what God has done is a great way to look back and see where God has brought us and is a testament of His goodness and faithfulness, but it is also a way to give hope to others walking through similar circumstances.

While we will never know exactly what someone else is walking through, we can encourage them and be an extension of God’s loving arms. It’s when we give our problems to God and help others do the same that we will emerge from our fiery trials without even smelling like smoke. Today, I praise God for what He has brought our family through and when I look back in the sand and only see one set of footprints, I know that it was God carrying me through it. God heard my cries and my little princess is living proof that God answers prayers. It truly humbles me to know that the love I have for her is a mere fraction of the love her heavenly Father has for her.