When I was thirteen years old, my mother married my second stepfather. He was a tender-hearted man with a rough-hewn nature. Known as ‘King Charlie’ by his peers, he was a gambler and an avid enthusiast of sports. My mother knew him as Chuck, just as my siblings did for quite some time. I so desperately longed for a father’s love that I started to call him ‘Dad’ right after they professed their vows. It wasn’t long until he occasionally called me ‘Daughty’, a nickname I found quite embarrassing. I was not interested in sports, but enjoyed tagging along just to spend time with Mom and Dad. At the horse races Dad would concentrate on the odds; I on how pretty the horses looked. At the hockey games I would focus more on the people in the stadium than the puck on the ice. The car races just left them
shaking their heads. “Why do you even come if you’re just going to write in your notebook instead of watching the track?” They asked. Car races were too noisy and boring for me, but Mom and Dad could not understand that.
Dad and I did share one common interest: we both liked to look through a large, two-volume dictionary from the nineteenth century. I smiled the day I discovered that ‘daughty’ was listed as an affectionate slang term meaning ‘chosen daughter’. From that point on I liked to hear him call me Daughty as long as he did not do it in front of my friends. After all, I was a self-conscious teen at the time.
I gave my heart to Jesus when I was in my twenties, and Dad did the same late in life. For the past quarter of a century now he has been in heaven. Today King Charlie lives with the King of Kings. I miss him, but I am very happy that he is with my Lord.
Another big old book that I came to love is the Bible. It is full of truth and encourages me to face each day of my life in the best way possible. It also describes how Dad and I were affectionately chosen to be children of God.
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will- to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in One He loves.
Dad, God and I all share a common interest now: you! You were chosen to be a child of God even before you were a child. Just as Dad and I discovered, God took us in as His children when we did not deserve it. He just plain loves us. We were accepted into God’s family because we trusted in His only begotten Son Jesus. Since He was sinless, Jesus was able to take our sins on Himself and pay for them on the cross. Because of His innocence and pure relationship with His Father, Jesus was raised from the dead and now sits with Father God. This is the perfect time to join our family. We are hoping to celebrate more adoptions and soon it will be time for Jesus’ wedding feast. You are invited. Please RSVP Wisely Today