A Heavenly Father

Thirty plus years ago, God found me. It was a dark period of my life, everything seemed to be falling apart. I lost a job that I really liked. My marriage was failing. So many things seemed to be wrong in my life. I asked Jesus to come into my heart that night. I will say my life has not been perfect since that time but it was a turning point for me. I gained a Heavenly Father on that day. As I go through life, he knows my needs. He sees the future and many times he has guided me and I didn't even know it at the time. I have learned that I need him. As many others before me, we need the guidance of our Heavenly Father.  I once had a view of my Heavenly Father that was incorrect. Many of us see him as a version of our earthly father, an imperfect father. I was an imperfect father. As I have learned from my Heavenly Father, I have been able to correct things in my life. Recently I drove the church van and picked up a mother and about eight kids. It reminded me of my family of origin. There were eight of us kids. Each one a little younger than the last. Boys and girls. A dysfunctional family as they all are when we really stop and look at them. There are no perfect fathers and mothers. We made mistakes. I copied much of what I learned from my parents. Some good, some bad. I reflected back of times when all of us that were born at that time would climb into the cab of a chevy pickup and head to church, eighty miles away. Packed like sardines, it seemed. I look at so many dysfunctional memories. My Heavenly Father is a perfect father. He sees way down the road what is ahead. He allows us free choice and the consequences of those free choices. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?ⁱ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:29-33. Our Heavenly Father knows us so well, he has even the hairs of our head numbered.  He saw us before we were even born and knows every one of our days before one of them happened. With the benefit of hind sight, I look back on my life, I see imperfections in my life. I see the way God has guided the direction of my life. I have much more value than a tiny sparrow that have lived from generation to generation to now from the day of creation. I look back and see how he guided me into taking classes when I was in my favorite job that was going to go away because of new technology. I see when my Heavenly Father guided me into a place of support before my first divorce. I saw my Heavenly Father  guide and help me when I made bad choices and suffered consequences. I prayed for help and he answered. He loved me every step of the way. I have many memories of answered prayer, even as a child in a dysfunctional home. I wondered as I drove that dysfunctional family to church, do they know my Heavenly Father? I have the experiences of a life lived to see his blessings on my life. Do they know him as I did. I mentioned a time 30 plus years ago when I returned to my Heavenly Father, but I experienced him even at a younger age. My first memory of an answered prayer was at the age of 5. We can have a perfect Father, he dwells in the heavens. He knows us and loves us perfectly. He does not take away free choice. But allows us to come to him freely as he tugs at our hearts door. Try Jesus, it will change your life. I am so thankful that I did. God bless, LVZ.