Dads don't like to say no

 In my recent post, 'the power of the mind' I wrote about the camping trip I took my kids on a few weeks ago.  On that same trip, the same hike up Morrow Mountain, as a matter of fact something happened that made me think about how blessed we are that God considers us His children, not just His servants.

Coming back down the mountain, I was exhausted.  My years in the Army and of being in any kind of halfway decent shape are way past.  I was dragging, so tired I was ready to sit down and quit.  The kids had gone way down the trail, barely in my sight.

Connor, my youngest, was running.  (I have always said that if I could bottle his energy, I would be rich.)  He tripped over a rock or a root and went sprawling.  I found energy that I did not know I still had from somewhere and ran down the trail to him.  He was crying, and had some scratches but nothing serious.

But of course, he was done.  He didn't care that we were miles from the campsite and still had some walking to do.  He was finished.  "Carry me, Daddy." He said through his tears.  As tired as I was, I leaned down and picked him up.  I put him on my back and gave him a piggy-back ride the rest of the way down the trail.

And as I was carrying him, the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:11, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in Heaven give good things to them that ask them?"

We sometimes have this picture of God as a mad, mean person looking for ways to say no.  But that is not the picture that Jesus paints of our Heavenly Father at all.  He is love and He is our Father.  He wants to bless us, to give us what we need (and more), and to take care of us.  And here is the thing:  God doesn't get tired, so He can always give us what we need.