As she tossed empty bottles and packs of cigarettes into her backseat, My gut told me I made the wrong decision. 

My withdrawn and sullen co-worker had invited me to hang out with a few of her friends and my free social calendar after work left me with an open space I wanted to fill with friends. 

So I mentally gagged my Dad’s warnings to “avoid kids who smoke and drink when they’re barely old enough to drive” while discreetly wiping ashes off the seat and got in the car. 

After an entire liquid-metal album pounded into my ears, my new friend pulled off the highway. We continued past plowed fields and a lone gas station until she pulled in the driveway of an old two-story home with weathered wood siding.

At the top of a narrow, creaky staircase waited a dimly lit living room packed with teenagers. Tattered curtains tickled the splotched faded carpet as I struggled for a breath of fresh air amid the cat urine and smoke. I clutched my half-empty coke as an excuse to decline the bottle offered to me. As my eyes adjusted to the hazy darkness, I found an empty seat and sat at the edge of the mysteriously furry sofa. 

Just when I thought it couldn’t get more awkward, a kid appeared from the kitchen carrying a lighter and a sandwich bag containing long, thin cigarettes. 

Just when it couldn't get more awkward, a kid appeard from the kitchen carrying a lighter and a sandwich bag containing long, thin cigarettes… Click To Tweet

Fear settled into the pit of my stomach, the bile building in my throat. I told my ride that my aunt lived nearby, walked to the gas station, and placed a collect call from the payphone. Relief and tears flowed as I heard my Dad accept the charges. “Dad, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t know where I am, but it’s about an hour away. I’m scared. Can you come get me?” 

After explaining what happened and assuring Dad I was okay, I handed the phone to the gas station clerk for directions. About 45 minutes later, I ran out to my Dad’s embrace. He opened the door and carefully placed his most recent stack of work papers in the back seat. We silently listened to our favorite Cat Stevens album all the way home, and we never spoke of that night again. 

What the Lord’s Prayer Says About Our Good Good Father

I remembered that night as I watched Jesus teach the disciples how to pray during an episode of The Bible. I realized that each line of the Lord’s prayer reveals a lot about God’s character and about parenthood. 

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

He’s in charge, so we should respect Him. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10 (KJV)

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

His house, His rules, whether or not we understand it. 

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)

Give us this day our daily bread.

He’ll take care of us.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 (KJV)

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

He knows we’ll screw up. All we have to do is ask and He’ll forgive us and forget it ever happened. 

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Hebrews 8:12 (KJV)

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

He won’t steer us wrong, and if we stray, He’ll rescue us when we call out to Him.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name,”
Psalm 91:14 (NIV)

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

It doesn’t matter how old we are, He is still Our Father.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Revelation 1:8 (KJV)

Your Loving Father

Jesus knows about all the poor decisions you made even as He whispered truth to your conscience. But He will answer when you call, no matter the cost. He will come for you, no matter how far you’ve gone. He will calm your fears, lead you to safety, and never look back. 

Not everyone has a story about a parent that mirrors Our Heavenly Father. If you have even one story about an adult who was there for you, I encourage you to call them and thank them for showing you what love looks like. 

But if today finds you feeling like an orphan, please know that you have a Father in Heaven to teach you, provide for you, rescue you, and love you. 

You have a Father in Heaven to teach you, provide for you, resuce, and love you. Click To Tweet

All you have to do is call. I’ve offered a prayer and a song to help you.

Prayer

After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-15 (KJV)

Dear Father,
Please forgive me for acting like an ignorant adolescent who thinks they know better than a loving father. I want to live in your embrace and I accept You as my perfect Father. Thank you for dying to save me from my own rebellion so I can come home with You.
Amen

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Good Good Father by Christ Tomlin