Still Hearing Dad’s Voice

If you have already lost a parent, then you totally get it when I say that their voices in your life are even louder after they are gone.

Sometimes it is the voice in your head that makes you feel guilty for not standing up straight enough.

Sometimes it is the advice you got the first time you drove the car alone after dark.

Sometimes it is the lecture when you messed up.

Sometimes it is the look of approval when you finished your degree or bought your first house.

Sometimes it is written word that you find going through their things.

Today I found some written words that my dad left behind. They weren’t in a letter or a notebook. Dad spoke few words and he wrote down even fewer.

To be exact, what I found today was only two written words. Well, really only one, because the same word was repeated. This word, together with a pair of arrows, gave me valuable guidance and direction. The word was “hinge” and it was written twice on the inside lid of a footstool. A pair of arrows around each word lined up with the holes where the hinge screws needed to go. Dad and Mom had reupholstered his footstool again and again over the years as she changed décor. So I’m sure he fought with those hinges more than once.

Today I reupholstered his footstool with scraps to match chairs I recently had recovered. And his notes told me exactly where to put the screws when it was time to put the lid back on its hinges. Thank you, Dad, for your wise instruction once again!

As precious as my dad’s voice is to me now, my heavenly Father, gives me words that are even more precious. In Psalm 119 [NLT], David declares these things about the Lord’s words:

v 3 - How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.

v 105 - Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

v 114 - You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.

v 130 - The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.

v 133 - Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.

v 160 - The very essence of your words is truth.

v 162 - I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure.

Thank you, Abba, for your words that are sweet, illuminating, hopeful, instructional, truthful, and such a great treasure. I’m grateful for Dad’s voice that I still hear, but I feel unspeakable gratitude for the words of our heavenly Father. May we hear His voice forever.