You probably don’t know that I have three kids. At four months old, Jace is our newest edition. Lily is my sweet, tough, cuddly 5 year old, and Eli is my high energy, goofy, well-mannered (most of the time) 6 year old. I love my family - really. I enjoy being a Dad and all it entails. I look forward to our car conversations on the way to school, snuggling at bedtime, playing tag on the playground and have always dreamed of imparting pearls of wisdom. One thing I never considered was how often they would impart pearls to me.
Recently, Eli’s been on a roll. Just the other night I was explaining to him the importance of family. I told him, “At the end of the day, family is the most important thing in your life.” He quickly corrected me by saying, “No, Dad. Jesus is the most important thing. Then, food and water because without those you would die.” Oh, my little truth speaker. And a few weeks ago in the car he said, “There are clouds in the sky and the sun is shining.”
The subtle truth of that one little sentence had my head spinning. How always true it is! No matter how terrible the storm, the sun is still shining. We can’t always see it, but it’s there. There are things in life that are constant, things that we can always rely on - more than just ‘death and taxes’.
The sun is always shining.
There is always something to be grateful for.
God is good. Always.
I type those three things, not with rose colored glasses, but in the midst of deep pain. After battling liver cancer my Dad passed away a few weeks ago. He was only 56. I’ve been sad, I’ve been angry - and if I’m honest I’m still a little of both. I suppose it helps to know the Son is certainly shining where my Dad is.
Eli actually made the comment about the sun as we were driving to visit family and attend my Dad’s funeral. The ironic thing is it sounds exactly like something my Dad would say. I asked my Dad once if there was something he’d like to complain about. His response, “Nah, it wouldn’t do me any good anyhow.”
The past few weeks I’ve learned there’s comfort in the constant. I’m clinging to God being good. I’m clinging to gratitude, because it’ll help me love God and others well. I’m clinging to the fact that the sun - and Son - is always, always shining.