Friday, October 01, 2010

My Daddy Can Fix Anything!

I was reminded recently of when my daughter was just a little girl. I can still remember that four year old little face, with tears in her eyes, walking up to me with a broken toy in her outstretched arms. “Daddy, can you fix this for me?”. I told her I would do my best, and I took her toy to my workshop out in the garage. A little while later I handed it back to her, good as new. I cannot tell you how much joy I felt inside as her eyes lit up, and she squealed, “Thank you Daddy!”, and then ran off to play with her toy.

We were living in an older home then that was in much need of repair, and it was during this time that I was able to learn and hone much of my handyman skills. It took some time, but by the time we finished, most of that old house looked brand new. Many times my children brought me broken things to repair, and sometimes to my own amazement, I was able to repair them. We taught our children to be polite and to say “please” and “thank you”, but it is hard to tell at such young ages if they really appreciated things or not.


It wasn’t until one of my friends had asked if I could bring my tools over to his house to help him fix something, when I heard my little girl loudly exclaim, “Sure he can. My Daddy can fix anything!” I had no idea she was listening, but it did feel good to know that my daughter believed that about me.


I hadn’t thought of that for quite some time. Recently I had been going through some of life’s trials and was feeling the heavy burden of despair. I had been taking for granted that I could indeed fix just about anything. I can do most home repairs and if something is made of wood, I’m your man. I am involved in various ministries and over the years have learned to work with people, calming storms, settling disputes, helping others reach a common ground. I enjoy fixing all sorts of things. But this time, emotionally, spiritually, I was getting beat up pretty bad. I had reached a breaking point and I had no idea what to do next.


I had been praying about this issue all along, but I had been asking God to make things the way I wanted them, instead of allowing Him to do it His way.


Finally, during one of my quiet times, alone with God, I gave it all to Him. Now, my kind of “quiet time” with God isn’t always quiet. Yes, sometimes it is when I am sitting in my comfortable chair alone with my Bible, but many times it is when I am busy mowing my yard or building something or working on a project in my garage. It was during one of those noisy quiet times, when I could hear my little girl’s voice shouting, “My Daddy can fix anything!” The mere thought of that sweet little girl repeating those words made me smile and brought warmth to my heart as those memories flooded back into my mind.

As I thought back to those early days, I heard another voice, that still, small voice you read about in the Bible. It was calm and reassuring, and I could almost feel a gentle hand on my shoulder as He said, “My Daddy can fix anything.” I immediately stopped what I was doing and fell to my knees. I knew all too well Who was speaking to me.


I began to pray and begged God to forgive me. I wept almost uncontrollably and called Him “Daddy”. I swept up all my problems, all those things that I could not fix, in my arms and I approached the throne and laid them down at the feet of Jesus. I could not look up, I couldn’t even look at His feet, and I cried, “Daddy, I can’t fix this. I am giving it all over to You to do with as You will. Please forgive me for being so selfish and wanting to have things my own way, instead of Yours”.
I stood up, turned around and walked away, leaving it all at Jesus’ feet.


I’ve seen some results since then, changes in things that could only come from the Holy Spirit working in people’s lives. I have no idea how things will turn out, but I have decided that whatever makes my Heavenly Father happy, makes me happy.



Blessings.



Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God's mighty hand,
that He may lift you up in due time.
Cast all your anxiety on Him
because He cares for you.
(1 Peter 5:6-7)