Hello Daddy . . .

The Lord’s Prayer has become one of the most frequently recited prayers in my home. To round up our morning devotions, we all pray it together, and I must admit that I’m super proud of Drama Queen (now five and half) and Bumble Bee (soon to be four in a few weeks) for being able to recite it with us.

A few days ago, I decided to switch out a few words in our version of the prayer. Normally, we would say, ‘Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors‘, I initially used this translation when I didn’t think they would be able to pronounce ‘Trespasses‘, let alone know what it means. Now that they have come to understand the concept of sin, I figured it’ll be best to help them grasp what that portion of the prayer actually meant, so I told them both that we would now be saying, ‘Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us’. DQ was excited about the change, but BB wasn’t finding it funny, to say the least. He didn’t want us using the word ‘sin’ while we prayed.

Don’t say bad things when you’re talking to God!

Bumble Bee

So I began the herculean task of explaining to him why we had to use that dreaded word in our prayer to God every morning. Thankfully, he got the gist and got on board with the rest of us. That’s not to say that every now and then he doesn’t raise his eyebrow when the word comes up, but we’re getting there.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name . . .”

Every time we say the Lord’s prayer, I’m always listening for any portion that might fly over their heads so I can come up with a version that would help them understand exactly what they are saying. So we don’t use words like ‘thine’ and ‘thy’, but I never had any qualms with “Our Father in heaven,” until yesterday.

This year, we’ve been reading bible stories from a book titled ‘The Jesus Storybook Bible’ by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago. During our devotion, we decided to read about when Jesus taught the disciples to pray, basically, the Lord’s prayer, and that was when I saw it . . .

HELLO DADDY!

They both laughed when I read it out loud, wondering why I was saying hi to their dad, but I sat there looking at those words like I had been struck by a lightning.

“HELLO DADDY”

“No guys, it’s God we’re calling Daddy. You know how we say, “Our Father in heaven”; father means daddy, doesn’t it?”

They both nodded in agreement and that was their lightbulb moment. Then the chorus started: “Hello Daddy” “Hello Daddy”. They both went on with it for a bit until I managed to get them settled enough to continue reading. I loved how the author paraphrased the Lord’s prayer and how simple it read, but the highlight of the entire read for me were the first two words “HELLO DADDY!”

Everyone one knows I’m a daddy’s girl. My dad has been in heaven for almost 19 years now, but the impact he had on my life is insurmountable, especially on my faith and love for Jesus. So I’m still a daddy’s girl; my Heavenly Father knows that I cannot do life without Him. When I read the introductory words to that prayer, it changed everything for me. Could I love this God any more than I already do? I don’t think I love Him as I should, and those words helped take my love up a notch.

Everyday, I see how Boo of life (my husband, for first-time readers) dotes on his daughter, DQ. I recognise the look in his eyes, it’s the same one my dad had anytime he looked at me. There’s something about fathers and their daughters; I know God loves us all equally, but I feel a little tickle when it comes to mind that God and I share a father-daughter relationship. Nevertheless, it’s one thing to call someone ‘father’ but when you call someone ‘daddy’ it adds a little spice of intimacy and familiarity, and closeness even. Some people have had horrible experiences with their fathers, but when you choose to call someone ‘dad’, it must mean a deliberate attempt to foster that intimacy. That was how I felt when I said those words out loud. That’s how I still feel as I write this.

The One who created the heavens and the earth is my DAD . . . my goodness, I cannot contain myself. And in this year when it doesn’t seem like things will be going back to normal anytime soon, it’s amazing to know that the One who has it all in control is my DAD, and He is only a HELLO away.

And so it has been, my prayers for the past thirty-something hours have all begun with “Hello Daddy”, and it’s safe to say that He responds in like manner:

Hi, dearest daughter!

Daddy

I’m his cub 🥰