Go Ask Your Father.....

Did you ever go to your mother to ask for something? Of course you did.
Everyone knows that you start with Mom. She is usually the easy touch when
you want something. And sometimes she was so busy that you thought she was
really not paying attention to what you were asking and she would just wave
her hand and say, "Sure, sure...whatever...just be quiet, I'm busy." But
looking back now, what you were asking wasn't all that important was it?
She knew what she was doing. She was really listening. But then you would
go to her with something really big. You would wait until she was really
occupied with something like you always did and cleverly slip your request
into your babbling that always made her tell you. "Sure, Sure...whatever."
But for some unknown reason, much to your dismay, you heard her say, "Go ask
your Father." Aw nuts!! Cut down like a tree! Dad never said, "Sure,
sure. whatever." He always had questions. A lot of questions. And you
could not schmooze Dad. He picked up on that right away. If he caught you
doing that the answer was automatically "NO". Discussion over and hopes
dashed. So you were forced to go to him and just spit it out. The truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then it would come. He would
make you dissect every word you had just told him. He would make you tell
him what was wrong with what you were asking and then he would end with
something like, "Now, looking at this from my standpoint, you really didn't
expect me to say yes did you?" Well, there you were. A tree, cut down to
the stump. What were you going to tell your friends? How would you ever
recover from being the only one of your acquaintances not being able to join
in on the fun? How could you go back to school the next day and face them.
You were now an outcast for sure. Your life was ruined.

Then you grew up, and you were the Dad. And now in your wisdom you know
that your Dad did you a favor in keeping you from things that in reality did
ruin some of your, so important at the time, friend's lives. You know what
is good and bad for your child. You have lived through everything they can
come up with or get into, or so you hope. You are a Father, not a friend.
You don't enjoy saying no, but it's for your precious child's well being
that you have to say "NO". And you know that your child will, as you did,
come to see the value of a good Father's wisdom.

But part of us will always remain a child from time to time when it comes to
making decisions. We grow up, and our parents become, with the passing
years, less and less able to give us advice. Times change and you find
yourself taking more and more care of them and advising them of what not to
do because it would be bad for them. They in turn hate getting old and do
things that hurt them and you are there to gently tell them that they need
to listen to you. Life just comes full circle doesn't it? So now who do
you turn to for help? Well, if you were lucky, God was introduced into your
life from a young age. If not, then you need to stop before you do anything
and say to yourself, "Let me pray to my Father about this." There lies the
wisdom that will make your life stay on the right path forever. God knows
what is best for you, just as you know what is best for your child and just
like your father knew what was best for you. You will find however, that we
won't always like what God has to say. Yes, sometimes God says, "NO". And
you will find it just as hard as you did when you were young to submit to
the "NO" answer. But draw from the knowledge you have gained through life
and know that if you care for your child, how much more does your heavenly
Father care for you? Matthew 7: 9-11 NKJV says, "Or what man is there among
you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks
for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in
heaven give good things to those who ask Him?" Don't go into anything
without praying on it first especially if you are excited and just positive
it is the right move for you. When our emotions are high we tend to be
impetuous and make hasty and bad decisions. Take a word of wisdom from your
mom and , "Go ask your Father"....Patti