Spiritual inspiration can come at all sorts of different places. It came for me yesterday during AUMC's annual charge conference. Reverend Gary Brooks said something that will be very memorable for me. "My 
prayer every day was 'please let me be the father and man that my son thinks I am.'" Wow... what a challenge. Many of you know I have a two and a half year old daughter. She is the apple of my eye... my princess. And yes, I posted a picture of her next to this article because I like to brag. I would give anything for her safety and well-being. I had a cursory understanding of unconditional love when I accepted Christ as my savior, a greater understanding when I married my wife... but that understanding became near complete the day my daughter, Mercedes, was born. I would gladly lay my life down for her. Please let me be the father and man my daughter thinks I am.
Sadly, I will fail. I cringe just thinking of that day... the day when the superhero image she has of me comes crumbling to the ground. The day she will realize that I am human and frail... that I make poor decisions or don't love people like I should... that I don't honor God nearly enough or value the well being of the church all the time. The sad reality is our parents are not perfect beings. They let us down. They can hurt us. Some of us have very sad stories of hurt and disappointment in relation to our parents. I hope and pray that my daughter and I will have a long, happy, and joyful relationship... that we'll never be estranged.
This leads me to our Father's heart. He will never fail us. What a comforting thought. We can rely on the fact that our Father cherishes us and keeps us. He desires the best for us and gives us the things we need to excel. I love how Jesus illustrates this thought so eloquently in Matthew 7:9-11 "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?" It is easy to doubt God's goodness when bad things happen. However, it is more appropriate to look to him for trust and comfort when those times come.
