My Other Daddy

My Other Daddy

You have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15

During the scary days of the Bay of Pigs incident, my brother-in-law, Loren, a Green Beret in the United States Marine Corps, was on high alert, expecting to be called up for duty at any moment. When the call came, he did exactly what he had always done in preparation for a mission—he packed his military gear, pressed his uniforms, and got a military haircut. The morning he was scheduled to leave on the mission, he got up, showered, and shaved off his beard and mustache.

Not realizing the effect this would have on his baby daughter, Julie, he was surprised when she wouldn’t have anything to do with him that morning. She didn’t recognize him without his beard and mustache. And she kept asking her mother, “Where’s my daddy?”

“Boy, that will take the wind right out of your sails,” said Loren when telling me the story a few years later.

Loren left on the mission and was gone for a few weeks. When he returned home, even though my sister-in-law, Penny, had been trying to help their little girl through the hairless-dad issue, Julie did not recognize him and would not have much to do with him for a long time.

One day he took her into the backyard and was pushing her in her swing. They were laughing and playing, having a wonderful time. Suddenly, little Julie looked at Loren seriously and said, “You’re nice . . . but you’re not like my other daddy.”

Whoever said freedom is free did not know some of the costs involved.

Abba, Father, thank you for being the same yesterday, today, and forever. We know you are our only real Father, and we love you so. Amen.