Teaching a 3-year-old to ride a bike…and other reflections!
So last week I gave a little bit of insight into my life under lockdown – particularly my daily walks/jogs with Daisy as she is loving cycling. Last week I reflected briefly on one of the phrases I repeated over and over, “Stop looking backwards!” and today I want to pause for a moment on another.
Daddy is right here!
For the most part, Daisy is very confident on her bike – even yelling at me from time to time if she thinks I am getting involved when she doesn’t want me to. This is often when she wants to show me that she can do it on her own – so my meddling (in her eyes) simply removes some of her choice and some of her autonomy.
That said, she still wants to know I am there. When she thinks I am in some way a bit distant (usually a work email on my phone) or if I have fallen behind at all, she lets me know…in no uncertain terms, that she wants to see me or at least have confidence I am close. As such, I find myself frequently reminding her, gently that “Daddy is right here.”
I remember in all my days growing up in church, I knew God was a Father. Unfortunately, I often heard the message that God is ‘like a father’ – which simply is not true. God isn’t seeking to mimic – he is the perfect example. I also remember hearing him referred to as ‘Father’ – a term which I always thought was quite a distant naming – it didn’t seem that warm to me. I remember the first time I heard that the word Abba has a meaning close to ‘Daddy’ made me feel a little uncomfortable. To call God Daddy felt far too familiar and kind of strange.
I am now probably at a midpoint on this…I understand he is Daddy, but I rarely call him that…but that is something He and I can work on!
So why did a story of a bike ride suddenly take a sideways leap to the father-nature of God? Well, simply this…I really want you to hear the words today that ‘Daddy is right here!’ In the midst of the current uncertainty and new ways of living. As new rules are introduced. As a new path into a new future is slowly revealed. As the ongoing changes that COVID leaves on our lives come into focus. In good times. Bad times. Hot days and rainy. In panic and in calm. Alone or in a family. Throughout all of this, ‘Daddy is right here.’
Sometimes we might think God is distant or quiet. Sometimes we want to feel him closer than we currently do. We might even question where he is during hard times or strange times, but the simple truth is this…’Daddy is right here.’
As Matthew 28:20 reminds us, in the words of Jesus, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”