Forever a Daddy's Girl

By Jessica Ruff, MS4

Last January, I had the opportunity to join an amazing group of women on the House of Hope mission trip. While the entire trip was incredible, I was taken aback by the normalcy of prostitution. Even its local name, "sitting in the chair," was commonplace. They were words without a hint of negative connotation. But then again, what can you expect in a country where women are not respected and monogamy is required for wives but cheating husbands are expected, even in the church? Yet what really touched me, what nearly broke my own spirit, was learning that "fathers" often sell their children into the sex trade for just $8-12.

It was a jolt to my system, and since that trip I can't help but recognize how great an earthly father I am blessed with. Now if you had asked me how much I liked my dad in high school, I would have told you something different. Not being allowed to wear pants with words across the butt, the requirement that all interested boys come over for family dinner BEFORE a date and the baseball bat that still sits next to his bed made him the bee in my bonnet many times. Even in medical school when my parents helped me buy a house, he calmly stated, "You can forget the house if you even think that you're going to have a male roommate. I was that age once, and that is not living with you." To which a guy in my small group responded, "Now there's a man after my own heart."

Did I have the perfect dad? No way. Nevertheless, I never once doubted that he was in my corner and that he wanted the best for me. Were there times when I wondered if he loved me? Yes. Did I sometimes think he was unfair? Yes, especially when he told me "no" or responded, "Because I said so." Now it seems that each day, I am reminded of how blessed I am to have my dad, and I'm reminded to say thanks to God. I look forward to the man of God's dreams asking him for my hand in marriage. There is no doubt that he will get the fifth degree and maybe even a somewhat joking threat of death. However, there will be no worries about this man's ability to take care of me. My daddy will have ensured it.

What is even cooler about this revelation is that my earthly father's love is nothing in comparison to my heavenly Father's love for me. The Bible is filled with the repetition of His actions and words of love for us. If you are ever in need of a reminder, then here are a few verses to check out:

• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, ESV).
• "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV).
• "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands" (Deuteronomy 7:9, NIV 1984).