One summer morning, I stopped at the local coffee shop after a weekday Mass. I expected to see college students or groups of retired individuals gathered inside. But to my surprise, the coffee shop was scattered with fathers spending time with their small children.
There was one father-daughter duo that stood out to me among the rest. They were in line to order when I arrived. The father’s hand was holding that of his daughter who was elegantly clad in a princess dress. A paper crown donned her tangled hair, and her little high-heeled shoes clicked as she walked.
He placed his order for coffee, making sure to add her choice of pastry. As they waited, the little girl spied a canister of water and cups for guests nearby. Loudly, she told her dad she was thirsty and wanted water. Her dad gently leaned down and said, “No, you have water in the car, and we’re going there as soon as our order is ready.”
This decision launched the little girl into a spiral of sadness. She fell to the ground as if her legs gave way. Her father tried to calm her down, but it was no use. The tear dispenser was on full throttle.
The barista handed the father his coffee and, with his daughter’s pastry tightly clasped between his fingers, he bent down and scooped her up into his other arm and proceeded to walk out the door. Her paper crown was crumpled and nearly fell offer head. They passed a lady who smiled and said, “Is the princess having a bad day?” The father nodded and replied, “We’ve all been there.”
I was touched by the father’s response and words of compassion about his daughter’s emotional state. It made me think about my Heavenly Father, and I wondered if He felt the same way about me? Is He also unfazed by my responses to life’s challenges – especially when they seem to be unbalanced to the situation? Does He commiserate with my pain, even when it seems trivial?
The answer is yes.
I walked away from the coffee shop that day with my cinnamon latte and three things about the Father that I want to remember:
Let the Father Carry You: Life is so much better, even in hard moments, when we’re held by the Father. We know He loves us like the sheep in the parables, carried around the neck and held in the arms of the Good Shepherd. He loves us so much he’s ready to literally walk for us, and bring us to a green pasture. The next time I’m hurting, I want to know that He’s not only walking for me, but transporting me to a better place that I can’t get to alone.
All is Not Lost: (aka. There is a pastry waiting for you in the car.) When presented with hard things, most often I assume that the hard thing is the Father’s main focus (because it’s my main focus!). While He no doubt has His attention fixed on my pain, deep down inside, I know He also has His sights set on something more – something good that He has prepared for me that’s bigger than whatever makes me cry. Like the pastry clasped between dad’s fingers in the coffee shop, the Father has something good already picked out for me that He knows will be my favorite. I don’t need to see it in this lifetime to know that it’s there. (Matthew 7:11)
The Father Loves Me, even when I’m not at my best: “We’ve all been there” the coffee shop dad said about his daughter’s tantrum. He could have very easily (and understandably!) looked in exasperation, rolled his eyes, or showed frustration. But he didn’t. He remained calm and showed his daughter by his actions that he was on her side. He was in her court, and he wasn’t about to let even a stranger have any last word on her tears. He stood up for her in that moment and claimed her. The father does this for me, too, so that even when I’m misunderstood or looked upon by others with pity, the Father sees in me the strength and goodness he knows is at the core of my heart.
The next time we have a hard moment or a difficult day, let’s remember that we are just like this little girl and her dad. We are held, safe, and loved, even when our paper crowns are crumpled. We are daughters of a King. Perhaps he kisses our foreheads with the same tenderness of this father, happy to love on us through thick and through thin. It is good to be a daughter!
I hear the same commercials you’re hearing about the restaurants, flowers, and romantic opportunities around the corner for everyone else. I watch you deliver boxes with sugary-hearts like a champ to your nieces and nephews, best-friend’s kids, and co-workers – bravely attempting to celebrate what you have instead of what you don’t have. (Go get em, girl!) And I see you return to the box of memories, reme
The very best Valentine I received came from my 8-year-old brother, many years ago. It was sitting on my bed when I came home that night: a stuffed horse with a felt saddle bag that said, “Be Mine.” It wasn’t the gift itself or the cuteness of the giver that made it the best Valentine ever – it was the exclusiveness and foreverness of the thought behind it. As siblings, it’s understood between us that we’re in this for life together, no matter what. But my baby brother went out of his way to say that I was someone he chose to love. There were no words necessary to accompany the gift. His action said it all: “I know you, I see you, and I hear you. We’re in this life together. And I think you’re pretty special.”
Her Soul Proclaims 