His Children Will Be Blessed

Few people have more influence over the life of a child than a father. I was blessed with a very special one, a father that personified what it means to be not only a father, but a daddy. His life, as well as his loss, affects me every day of my life.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…His children…will be blessed. Psalm 112:1-2

I was still in shock—numb and cold, with a chill that neither blankets nor my husband’s arms could warm. My father was dead, struck by lightning while fly fishing with a friend. Now there was a funeral to plan. What could I say about this man I loved so much? How could I condense all the feelings of all the years into a few paragraphs?

When I gave up on sleep, I got out my Bible and turned to Psalms—always a safe place to go when you’re hurting. I just started reading, for over two hours. Then something grabbed my attention. There were words that described my father to a tee, words that said all of the things I wanted to say and couldn’t. He had been a powerful Christian, a Marine, and a well-respected businessman.

I read on and on, feeling as if I was hearing someone describe my dad; a soothing warmth began to creep over me. That man, God’s man, was the way I wanted to remember him: God-fearing, righteous, upright, gracious, compassionate, generous, just, fearless, steadfast, and honorable and his children were blessed.

Later, I began to wonder, what kinds of things someone would say about me at the end of my life. That’s something I’ll never know. There are things that I saw in that scripture that made me want to be like my dad more than ever. I have some aspects of his personality, but not all.

As I read it again other things began to stand out to me, things that I could work toward, things that I could pray for God to instill in me. I began to see that what my dad had done were all things that I could do too: take delight in God’s commands, fear God—but like I felt for my daddy, respect and honor because of whom he was.

God is deserving of my respect and honor. I never wanted to do anything that would dishonor my father. Neither do I want to do anything that will dishonor my heavenly Father. The words of this scripture are a lesson for my daily life.

Not everyone is blessed with an earthly father that honored God. But we all have a heavenly Father that loves us more than any earthly Father ever could. Choose to honor God, the Father today.

About the author:

Norma Gail’s debut contemporary Christian romance, Land of My Dreams, set in Scotland and New Mexico released in April 2014. She has led weekly women’s Bible studies for 19 years. Her devotionals, poetry have appeared at ChristianDevotions.us, the Stitches Thru Time blog, and in “The Secret Place.” She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, FaithWriters, Romance Writers of America, and the New Mexico Christian Novelists. She is a former RN who lives in the mountains of New Mexico with her husband of 39 years. They have two adult children.