Deddy

Yes, I spelled that correctly.  Deddy.  You know you are truly southern/country when you pronounce it "deddy" not "daddy".  And you might as well just move up north if you are going to say "dad" or "father".  I will admit that I do say "dad" from time to time but my earthly father will always be my daddy.  I'm 27 and still have him listed as "daddy" in my cell phone.  Whatever I call him, he is in my eyes the greatest man alive.

The thing about my daddy that has never ceased to amaze me over the past year is his love for me.  In a year that I have learned how fickle love can be, I also learned what unconditional love truly is.  I learned it from my parents.  Or rather I felt an unconditional love from them that cannot be explained, it can only be observed.

So this father's day I could go on and on about all the great things my dad does and how respected he is by everyone but I simply want to make it known to all that I love him more than ever because of his unconditional love for me.  I can't even begin to list all the ways my dad has been present for me this past year.  From packing my house, to sitting at the lawyer's office, to coming over in the middle of night because I can't stop crying, to fixing broken windows at my house, and making sure that I have money to not just eat but live comfortably, my dad has been a super hero this past year.  I'm sure it wasn't his plan to ever have me move back into my parent's house but he more than willingly opened his arms to me when I needed his help.  And he always told me his honest opinion this past year.  When I did something stupid, he told me.  My dad never stopped me from making my own decisions but always made sure I knew his opinion.  And while often times his opinion differed from mine, I am a much better person because of my dad's tough love.  Its that kind of love that shows me even more of how much he truly loves me.  I will never be able to repay him for the way he loves me and I know I don't have to because I am his little girl.

And thus I can't help but think about my Heavenly father.  Who somehow beyond what my small mind can comprehend loves me even more than my earthly father.  And I while I will never fully comprehend how much God loves any of us (and why He even continues to love me), I do get a glimpse of my Heavenly father's love of me through the way my earthy father loves me. 

 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

We love because he loved us first. 1 John 4:19

Happy father's day to earthy father! I love you