I WILL RISE!!!

Ok, its not even 9AM and I've been through about every emotion known to man...or woman...in my case!
This AM, Lyndi decided to have a falling out fit because her cereal wasn't in a BIG bowl. I'm sorry, I put it in a travel worthy bowl like I do EVERY morning when we have to eat on the run. But because I fell short of her expectations....since Pete was at home sick with the stomach yucks and I had to get Lila to school too.....she had to FALL OUT on the floor and practically be dragged to the car. Thanks to Pete for actually getting her UP in her seat and buckling her in...cause if I had to do it...I might have had to ___________ her (you can fill in any verb you can think of that semi-resembles torture).
So, once we got Lila to school, Lyndi asked me for the 1000000 time whether or not we were going to church tonight. She LOVES to go to church. And I LOVE that she LOVES to go to church. And what a sweet blessing that (despite the fact that she had a blooming fit at the house)she sat in the back seat singing to (at the beautiful tender age of 3)"I Will Rise" by Matthew West. She may not know what the words really, really mean YET, but she sang them with all of her heart. And I strained to hear her. I bet that God probably strained his ear a bit to hear her sweet little self singing HIS praises this morning too.
I would be so selfish to say that the blessings ended there for me....
While we were driving in, I thought that since I was running early that I should stop by and see my dad on the way in at work. For a moment I wavered on that thought. But then I drove up the drive to the shop. When I walked in I saw one of my dad's coworkers. I joked with him that if I called out "DAD", how many of the men at the body shop would turn around! I called "dad" and my dad did turn around! :) Along with about 3 others. But I wondered inside if my dad recognized my voice, the voice of his child that he had heard call his name for almost 37 years.
I told Dad that he needed to come out and see Lyndi. She loves her Papa so much!! She wanted to see him so badly. So he went out and hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. He stooped down and talked to her while she sat in her car seat. She didn't have a lot to say but I could tell that she was so completely crazy in love with talking to her Papa.
I asked Dad if he knew how his coworker David White was doing. David recently lost his 44 year old wife quite unexpectedly to Meningitis. Within less than one week, his wife went from having an ear ache to going to the hospital...to going on a vent...to being disconnected...to dying. They had (I think) 3 teenage children together. Dad said that he wasn't sure how he was doing since it had been a week since she had passed and he had not been back to work.
No sooner had we spoken of David and dad said,"Well here comes David now!" David walked up and I introduced myself. I hugged him and told him that we had been praying for him at our church in Comer. I told him that I was sorry for his sudden loss and that although we can not always understand why these things happen, God does have a great plan in everything. Across his face, there was a flash of sadness that was replaced with a gleam of pride and love. He told me that his wife, who had died before her time was a Christian woman who whole heartedly believed in God. She was a very good woman that was unselfish, always doing for others and was very kind. He knew where her heart was...with the Lord. I thought, what an awesome blessing to KNOW without a doubt that she BELIEVED. Not only did she BELIEVE, but she was a woman with a big, unselfish heart that did for others. He said that he thought he needed to get back to work and to move on into the next chapter of his life. And I knew what he meant. He needed to get back to DOING something so he didn't sit at home dwelling on his loss. He needed a distraction. But at the very least, he had peace in his heart. I am so grateful for him for that.
But then came an extra blessing for me. As I told my dad that I needed to go, I hugged him bye. When I hugged him, for some reason TODAY, it took me back. It took me back to all those years when I hugged my dad and felt that warm, cozy, comfortable love that I felt as a young girl...back when I was a true Daddy's girl. The warmth and safety I felt there....that I haven't felt in a long time...was THERE!! It was like having a renewed belief in the Santa Clause I believed in as a child. As we grow up and find out the truth about Christmas (and come to understand that we celebrate Christmas because of Christ and not because of the man in the red suit) and begin to forget the excitement and joy that we felt for the man we know as Santa....I felt that overwhelming joy and love for my Dad just like I used to feel for him like I did as a child. Not that I don't love my Dad now. I surely do...but to experience the same love as a child and probably just as Lyndi felt for him.....was a beautiful, sweet blessing.
As we grow up and grow older, we start to see our family members and parents for the true people that they are and not just as our sister, brother, mother or father. We learn about them as a provider, about their hopes, dreams and disappointments. We may even have hurts and disappointments tied to our relationships with them. But today, being able to see my Dad through the eyes of a child and not thinking about any other feeling but the love I felt for him really made my visit extra special. And knowing that David suffered a huge loss, his time with his wife cut short, made me recognize what a special gift I received this morning. And I am truly, deeply thankful for that!