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Print By Rachel Jeffers My two-year old son recently entered a phase of Daddy
‘withdrawal’ while my husband was working. He began by asking for “Dad-dee” a
few times during the day, and the request escalated to several times throughout
the morning and into the afternoon. I would repeatedly explain that Daddy was
working and would be home later to play with him. One morning, an idea came to me. I trimmed down a picture of
my son and husband to a wallet-size format. I laminated it, punched a hole
through it, tied a blue ribbon through it and formed a necklace. I termed it a
“Daddy Tag,” a pun on dog tags. I told my son that he could wear his Daddy Tag
whenever he missed his dad. I hung the Daddy Tag on his doorknob and sure
enough, every so often, I’d hear him squeal “Dad-dee!” and he’d come around the
corner with the tag swinging from his neck. It wasn’t long before he was wearing the tag often, even when
Daddy was home. Soon, its purpose was no longer to soothe the loneliness, but it
became part of his identity, traveling with him to the store, to the park, to
church, and to bed. As I pondered this, I began to think of our Heavenly Father and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I began to think of Jesus, ascending to Heaven to prepare a home for us, going to ‘work’ for His children on Earth, but leaving us His Daddy Tag. He said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). His Spirit was given not just to ‘wear’ in times of comfort, but to become our identity, to learn to walk in His teachings. When we ‘wear’ our Holy Ghost everywhere we go, we are identified not by our name, but His. When we discover the true joy of the Holy Ghost is not simply to comfort us, but to ‘become’ us, we have understood His gift. I thank God daily for my ‘Daddy Tag’ and wear it with pride everywhere I go. It has become my identity. It has become my name.
ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Rachel Jeffers ----- Rachel Jeffers enjoys mothering her two-year old son, Theoden. When she isn't at rock-n-tots, or having tea with a friend, she takes pleasure in camping with her son and husband, Steven. |
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