I have a pretty awesome dad. He played a huge roll in making me the strong confident woman I am. More importantly (or maybe the previous statement is a result of this), he showed me how I, as a woman, deserved to be treated. He did this in the way he treated other women in his life, like his female coworkers, my mom, my grandma, and my aunt. He did this in the way he required my brothers to treat not only me, but also other girls. And, of course, he did this in the way he treated me.
One of the many ways my dad showed me how valuable I was, was by taking me on daddy-daughter dates (and just by spending time with me). He took me to Pacers games. We went to the Peter Pan ballet. He went with me to watch China and New Zealand play basketball. We went to the Old Fashioned Spaghetti Factory, and we’d just hang out. By spending time with me and by doing things with me that I loved, my dad showed me that I was valuable, that I was loved, that I was special, and that I was deserving of other people’s time, love, and affection.
These things also taught me that my dad had my back. If he was willing to give up his Saturday night to go to the ballet with me, what wouldn’t he do? And when you know dad has your back you become fearless. You know that you can jump off the cliff because somehow dad will catch you before you hit the ground head first. I wasn’t a dare devil child, but I always knew I’d have someone to catch me (and when I got older rush me to the ER).
Believe it or not, my dad isn’t perfect. But when it comes to dads, I don’t know a single person who had a better one than I did – I am not exaggerating. All that being said, I have more than one father.
I have John, my earthly father, and God, my heavenly father. And, like I would with my earthly father, I’ve been talking (praying) about the World Race with my heavenly father. I was overjoyed when He told me that this trip wasn’t about abandonment for me (like it is for many others). Obviously, I’ll be leaving a lot behind and giving up a lot of things for this trip. But God has told me that this trip is going to be a long Daddy Daughter Date with me and God. Needless to say, an 11 month long daddy daughter date sounds AWESOME!
He told me that we are going to have fun. We are going to reach out and experience and taste his creation. We’re going to do things I’ve never done before. We’re going to see the incredible things he has to offer me. He’s going to teach me that with every step farther into this journey and every leap off every big cliff that He’s going to protect me. I know that at the end of this, I won’t have to look behind me as I jump to see if He’s there. I will intuitively know.
God is calling me out, He is saying, you are loved, you are accepted, you are valuable. He’s telling me to go with him and to experience this together.
For me, this isn’t about abandoning. God had freed me up to bring anything I’m willing to carry. He’s asked me to bring things I wasn’t planning on. He’s told me I have a purpose on this journey. He’s told me that He is going with me and that He’s planned the best daddy daughter date of all time and He’s planned it especially for me.
The World Race for me is going to be experiencing all God has to offer. My World Race is about God loving me and me learning to love and trust him back. My World Race is going to be a Daddy Daughter Date!
