Daughters!

After my first daughter was born I remember proclaiming to my wife I wanted to have all daughters! 

My thoughts were about my own childhood being dressed up like a girl by my older sisters. I am not sure how I let that happen. Fortunately, cameras, back in the day, were not as prevalent as today. As far as I know, there are no photos of this humiliating event! LOL! But, I did not want a future son to face that kind of torment. God must have heard me. I ended up with three daughters and no sons!

As I started to explore the short book of Lamentations, I was caught by the description of Israel as the "daughter of Jerusalem." This terminology or its equivalent, "daughter of Zion" is prevalent throughout Lamentations and other writings of the prophets in the Old Testament. 

What can I say about you? Who has ever seen such sorrow? O daughter of Jerusalem, to what can I compare your anguish? O virgin daughter of Zion, how can I comfort you? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you? (Jeremiah 2:13)

Thinking about Israel as a daughter of God the Father gives me a very different perspective on all that happened in the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations. When my daughters face difficult challenges in life, I feel it deeply within my soul. When my oldest daughter faced cancer this past year, I ached for her. I was by the side of my middle daughter as she gave birth earlier this year. It was almost unbearable. As she faced divorce a few years ago I felt such anguish for her. I wanted to fix it, but couldn't. As my youngest daughter has faced many challenges throughout her life, I have often mourned for her and her suffering. As a Dad, watching your daughters go through trials and tribulations is nearly unfathomable. 

God the Father, feels the same way when he looks at us. When I read of the pain suffered by Israel and Judah in the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations, I feel God the Father's anguish. I also think about all the pain and mourning I have caused my Heavenly Father throughout my life. 

God is not just some far away, uninvolved "being." God is our Father. He is described as "Our Father who art in Heaven" for good reason. I occasionally give advice to my daughters. (They might laugh at that comment!) Often they are wise to do their own thing. I wish I had the kind of wisdom God has. God's advice to Israel was perfect, but they ignored it. We also ignore his advice and have a tendency to do our own thing, our own way, in our own timing. He is miserable when he sees us fail. If we had taken his advice we would have such an amazing life. 

Forgive me FATHER for not listening and obeying your wisdom and direction in my life. 

My greatest desire for my daughters comes from Zechariah --

"Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9)

May their faith in God the Father grow throughout their life!