Last week I went to my hometown, Brawley, to visit
family and say a few goodbyes. It was going to be a quick 2-day visit. My plan was to roll in early on Wednesday
and roll out by 4pm on Thursday. It was Thursday afternoon about an hour before I was going
to leave and I’d decided to take a short nap before having to drive in
the blazing heat when there was a knock at the door. My little sister
opened the door and said, “Dad?” He said, “What
are you guys doing?” She responded
rather sleepily and said, “Taking a nap”.
Then I heard him say, “I’m here to wash Cindy’s car, no daughter
of mine
is going to drive back to San Diego in such an ugly car.” Yup, my car
was pretty filthy. So bad that it looked brown when in reality
its silver! Did I forget to mention
that we are in the desert? Which means its 117 degrees outside!!!
This might not seem like such a big deal, but it really
is. My dad doesn’t have much to his
name; in fact he doesn’t really have anything to his name. He is a very simple man who lives very
humbly in a shop that he works out of. He is extremely gifted in painting and designing but his business went
under quite a few years ago and he’s been struggling ever since to make rent,
pay bills or even feed himself. He is
one of the most giving people I have ever known, even when he doesn’t have much
he is still trying to give what he does have away.
My dad scrubbed my car so good it looked brand new. Not only did he wash it, but also buffed out
the scratches and waxed it! Then he
cleaned my rims and tires. He was sweating
so hard and I could see he was exhausted but he wouldn’t quit! He made sure I had fluid for my wipers and
scrubbed my mats by hand. I helped
rinse and dry but he was so focused on what he wanted to do I couldn’t do much
more than watch him and keep him company.
When it was all said and done he pulls out of his pocket thirteen
crumpled up dollars and says, “Mija, I wanted to give you more but its all I
have”.
Wow. Oh the great
love of the Father. I can’t even begin
to explain how loved I felt by my dad in that moment. Not because of what I got, but because he showed me how much he
really does care. Matthew 7:11 states
this, “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!” I saw Jesus. I saw my Heavenly Father through my dad that
day. Not only did I feel the love of
the my earthly father, but the love of my Heavenly Father was on display.
Aside from learning the practical things such as how to wax my car
and buff out the scratches I learned that I really do have so much. I have the
life changing love of God in me! His love has wrecked me and even if I
feel like I don’t have much I can still give of what I
have. I have the love of God in my heart. I have a burning desire for the
hopeless and fatherless to see Jesus and be healed of every
heartache, insecurity and fear inside of them. I want to declare over the
people I come across
this next year, “Silver and gold I have not but what I do have I will
freely give, In
the name of Jesus Christ rise up!” My prayer is that people would have
an encounter with Jesus and know that they are loved by the Father just as I have. I also pray that my own father would one day know the love of our Father.
