Daddy

I've been missing my Dad an awful lot lately. He passed away on my 39th birthday, October 7, 2007. It was a hard day but I was excited to know he was no longer in pain and was reunited with my mom, the love of his life, and better yet, in the presence of God.

I always called my Dad "Dude." "Hey, Dude, what's up?" I would say. I still can't remember why I called him that but it was my term of endearment for him. I adored my Daddy...my "Dude."

I've been studying a book Praying the Names of God, by Ann Spangler, and she goes through and focuses on a particular names of God each week. It has been eye opening.

At first I thought, why are there so many names of God, why not just God? But I have come to realize that for people in the ancient world names carried a great deal more significance than in our modern world. Names didn't only identify you as a person but they identified your character.

So far, my favorite is El Roi (El raw-EE) The God Who Sees Me. God made himself known to Hagar when she was in the desert and she is the one who named him El Roi. He saw her like no one else. He saw the fear and difficulties she was going through but He stood by her and told her to "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."

What did El Roi do? He blessed her with numerous descendants, too many to count. He never left her.

I have a strong faith in "El Roi". He sees the person I am when no one else is looking. He sees who I am when I struggle with overeating, with saying the right things, with being prouductive at work, even when I want to slip into my pit of depression because it feels like the safest place to be.

My God, my El Roi knows me better than any person on earth. Do I bless Him with my time in prayer and thanksgiving? Do I truly honor Him in all that I am?

Today I Am Thankful For:

1. frozen dinners
2. 3 lbs gone!
3. spots on the carpet
4. barking dogs
5. a semi clean garage