Daddy’s Hands

I came to an understanding this morning as I was with my daughter. You see, she is almost 8 months old, and we are beginning to see a little bit of separation anxiety in her when we try to pass her off for other people to hold. She clearly prefers her parents to other people, which in a way is sad and in a way is comforting.

I’ve always sort of wondered why separation anxiety occurs. I think I had a revelation this morning. My daughter woke up at 6:00 AM to eat, and after her meal and a few minutes hanging out with daddy, she was ready to go back to bed. I marvel at her ability to just rest her head on my shoulder, getting comfortable, and drifting peacefully off to sleep. Watching her do this, I realized that she felt safety in my arms, and that was able to help her relax and go to sleep. Daddy’s hands were her refuge.

It also made me realize how often I take my Father’s hands for granted. How often do I try to lean on my own understanding instead of taking my cares to God? Recently, I have been attempting to make prayer more personal, because I know how easy it is for me to make a “God, please…” list of requests for prayer time. But when things get shaky, how often do I turn to the Lord and just let His hands be my refuge? What about you, reader?

Here is a video featuring the song “Daddy’s Hands” by Holly Dunn, and while it is a great tribute to all of the earthly fathers, if you listen to it with your Heavenly Father in mind, it also has great meaning. I hope that all of us will re-learn about the safety in our Father’s hands, and go to that place of refuge more often.

Lessons From the Torah

WIFE (stands for Woman I Find Exceptional, and how I will refer to my wife from now on) and I are reading through the entire Bible this year, and our daily plan has caused us to just now finish the book of Deuteronomy. Wow, there’s a lot of information in there, including some verses I wish I hadn’t found. But hey, they’re there for a reason. Here are a few of the things I learned from the first five books of the Bible:

1) The Israelites were some messed up people! Every time God would do an amazing miracle for them, they would complain about something else and usually reference it with “Did God lead us here to die in the desert?” Plus, some of the rules that God laid out for them I couldn’t imagine, but obviously He had to set them straight because these issues came up (if you’re wondering what issues I mean, see Deuteronomy 23; I really don’t want to list them here).

2) Moses was an amazing leader. The last few verses of Deuteronomy (I suspect written by Joshua) claim him as so, but just think about it. Can you imagine leading a group of middle-schoolers on a camping trip for 5 days? Now try doing it with an millions of people for 40 years.

3) The old covenant in no way compares to the new covenant. While both made by God, I for one am thankful that I don’t have to give an animal to the High Priest to be sacrificed every time I sin, because the world probably doesn’t have enough sheep or pigeons. Plus, I like being able to have a personal individual relationship with God, rather than having to go through the priests.

4) What happened to Simeon? In Moses’ blessings of the tribes of Israel at the end of Deuteronomy, he mentions every son of Jacob except Simeon. What did he or his people do to get left out of the blessing, and did they ever get back into God’s good graces?

5) Participate in the census. Apparently they’re important. God basically devoted a whole book of His Word to one.