I “teased” a follow-up story when I posted this photo on my personal Facebook page on Father’s Day.
Now to put some meat on the bones of that skeletal post!
My dad was an avid golfer for as long as I can remember. Certainly not pro status, but what others would consider a bogey golfer – generally no more than one over par on each hole. Not bad.
So, at the age of 14, he introduced me to the game. He paid for me to take lessons from the winner of the annual club championship. And I spent many fun rounds, learning from and laughing with my dad.
As I got older, I continued to play – often with leagues at the companies where I worked.
After I retired from that corporate rat race, Dale and I joined a club out near Greenfield, IA. Now I could just laugh with Dale – no learning going on! Dale was clearly NOT a serious golfer. On multiple occasions, I had to remind him that he wasn’t allowed to tee up his ball in the fairway…
But back to the photo. I don’t remember the exact year, but it had to be over 40 years ago. My dad got two holes-in-one on the same hole in the same summer at the Pella course. That’s a pretty amazing feat.
That earned him a golden putter which you see in the image. The black and white photo is of him receiving that putter from the publisher of the Pella Chronicle.
Somewhere between that award and the following Christmas, I found the perfect saying and had someone create the plaque in the picture. It says, “Man blames Fate for other accidents, But feels personally responsible when he makes a Hole-in-One.”
Perfect! He and I got a good laugh out of that one.
He passed away unexpectedly on January 1, 1992, almost 35 years ago. Dad and golf were so closely connected that I couldn’t even golf that first summer after his death. I’ve been missing my dad for half of my life. Especially every Father’s Day.
The picture on the shelf below my dad’s photo is one of me after I got a hole-in-one back in July 2015 – and the scorecard is the proof. I was SO hoping I could get another hole-in-one on that same hole that same summer! But it wasn’t to be. I’ll settle for the one and leave the greater distinction for my dad.
After he passed, I inherited the golden putter and the plaque. The plaque has been hanging in my office for years, but I never had a good place for the putter. I just usually leaned it up against a wall somewhere.
A few days ago, I was inspired to create this memorial wall, of sorts. But it feels more like a “story wall” because there’s such history behind it. It doesn’t make me sad; it makes me smile and feel grateful for the years I had with a dad I adored.
I know Father’s Day likely invoked a wide variety of emotions from all of you reading this. Some, like me, are missing a dad they dearly loved. Some still have their dad in their lives. Others never had a “present” dad for a variety of reasons. And some have dealt with, or continue to suffer from, various forms of abuse from their dads.
It’s a complicated world, a complicated relationship, often made worse because of the dysfunction in these relationships.
I know this next idea isn’t news to many of you. Our earthly fathers, even the good ones, will never live up to any impossible expectations we place on them. That often leads to disillusionment when we attempt to reconcile painful memories to a good God who is our Heavenly Father.
The very qualities we would most hope to find in our own dads are found perfectly and in abundance in our Heavenly Father.
Before looking at some of the qualities the Bible attributes to God as our heavenly Father, I should mention my favorite attribute of all—his sovereignty. I think of God’s sovereignty as an umbrella that covers all his other qualities. Because our heavenly Father reigns over all things, his love, compassion, patience, provision, guidance, and faithfulness can never fail. His fatherly heart and his sovereign rule work hand in hand.
Twelve Qualities of Our Heavenly Father
- He Loves Us Unconditionally
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…”
— 1 John 3:1
- He Adopts Us as His Own Children
“You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ “
— Romans 8:15
- He Is Compassionate
“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.”
— Psalm 103:13
- He Provides for Our Needs
“Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”
— Matthew 6:32
- He Gives Good Gifts
“How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
— Matthew 7:11
- He Is Patient and Merciful
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”
— Psalm 103:8
- He Forgives
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins…”
— 1 John 1:9
- He Protects and Shelters Us
“Under his wings you will find refuge.”
— Psalm 91:4
- He Comforts Us
“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.”
— Isaiah 66:13
- He Guides Us
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
— Psalm 32:8
- He Disciplines Us for Our Good
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves…”
— Hebrews 12:6
- He Never Forsakes His Children
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
— Hebrews 13:5
That’s honestly just the tip of the iceberg of all the Bible tells us about our loving heavenly Father.
I pray that, regardless of the relationship you have or had with your earthly father, this list would remind you of all God our Father wants to lavish upon us. We need only ask – and have eyes to see.
Perhaps my favorite picture of all is found in Romans 8:15, where we are told that we have received “the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” Abba is an intimate term—something akin to Daddy or Papa. What an amazing privilege that the sovereign Creator of the universe invites us into that kind of relationship with him.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear,
but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons,
by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Romans 8:15