In Honor of my Father on Father's Day

Here is a personal anecdote from my childhood in honor of Father’s Day. I love my dad very much and it is through stories like the one I’m about to share, that I can begin to imagine infinitely more how much my Heavenly Father loves me. I’m grateful for this heroic tale that stars my dad. It causes me to give thanks for a man who isn’t perfect, but who has always striven to be obedient in his role as a Godly Father called to love, protect, nurture, care for, teach and of course discipline.

While my father was getting his Master of Theology at Princeton, my family lived in the student housing complex. Some of my fondest memories as a child include finding honeysuckle vines and feasting on the buds as if it were candy! I lived for the days where we would set out in search of honeysuckles like heat seeking missiles. On one particular day, my sister and I were playing outside when we were approached by some of the older kids in the neighborhood. They told us that the other side of the soccer field was covered in honeysuckles and they were headed there. They asked me and my sister if we wanted to go with them. We did, so we followed them to the edge of the field where they told my sister and I to go in first. I led the way and as I bounded into the woods, it became clear that my sister and I were alone. We yelled out to the other kids, but they had left us high and dry. We kept on going, determined to find the honeysuckles. The woods were getting thicker and thicker and soon we found ourselves tangled in a web of thorn bushes. I held my sisters hand and I tried to back out, but we were trapped. My sister started to cry and I panicked. I screamed as loud as I could for my daddy! The field was across the street from my building and in my opinion it was a miracle that my father heard us and came running out.

He ran into the woods barefoot, wearing only his white undershirt and his underwear. Both of us tucked tightly under each of his arms he pulled us out of harm’s way and back to safety. He got all the way out and I cried for him to go back and get my purse. He didn’t even hesitate, he ran back into the thorn bushes to grab my purse. Of course the content of my purse was monopoly money, my little pony combs and my play make up…very important things! But He didn’t question it, he just wanted us to be restored, whole and safe. I’ll never forget that day. There were no limits to what my dad would have done to keep my family safe. Once he calmed us down and brought both my sister and I home sniffling from our ordeal, he cleaned us up and made sure all of our boo boos were tended to.

Only after he knew we were okay did he ask us what happened. I explained to him that we were bamboozled by the older kids and that we were lured in with the promise of honeysuckles. He chastened me as the big sister to know better than to go into the woods honeysuckles or not. He pointed out how dangerous it was and that we needed to be more careful when we played outside. Furthermore as the big sister, it was my job to look after my little sis. We had scared him. After his obligatory words to me, knowing I felt bad for getting my sister and I into trouble, he hugged us and let us know that he was just glad that we were okay. I was embarrassed that I fell for the trickery of the older kids and I felt badly for leading my sister and I into the woods away from the safety of our home and our yard. Yet I knew my daddy loved me and my sister. We didn’t need to question or doubt it. I hold on to that.