Interview With My Daughter, Part 4

So, I was at a conference in Atlanta for work and at one of the main sessions, they interviewed the children of well-known ministers about how their parents fulfilled their roles as parents...

...so, I stole the idea from them, recorded the questions and asked my oldest daughter (the youngest declined, wisely, because she still lives in this house & goes to that church) to respond to them. She did, and I'll ask the questions and have one entry every day this week.

And, for those of you interested, you can check out Kelsey's personal blog with lots of her art and thoughts...

Question 4: What attribute of God does your mother best exemplify that you learned from her? Which attribute from your father?

"When I look back at growing up in my parent's house, and I remember all of the really good times and really hard times I had on Prairie Creek Drive, I remember mostly sitting on the kitchen counter, and my mom's hugs. My parent's are not touchy-feely people. They do not hold hands, and have still yet to see them kiss. I, however, am, and I think my mom really understood that about me.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3 and 4 Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

In this verse--I think--Paul is talking about spiritual comfort, and there is no one better at that in my life than my mother. While she may not be a bible scholar or a questioner of deep theological questions, Tracy McKinney loves the Lord and his comfort in her life does allow her to comfort me through all afflictions. I may not tell her every single trial in my life, but I am always grateful when I share with her because she is so good at speaking truth to me, and hugging me all the while.

Sometimes when I read the Gospels, I am reminded of being a little kid. To say that my father reminds and is an active representation of who Jesus is in my life may be a little bold, but nonetheless true. My father shows me that the lord is wise, and just. Jesus was hard on his disciples but it was only because he wanted for them to understand truth.

In the gospel of John, Jesus tells the same stories over and over again, and the disciples in their sin and small minds, cannot understand him. It's funny because when I read this question, I thought I would talk about how my Dad taught me who God is, but he didn't really. My Dad shows me, actively and forcefully who Jesus is. He forces me to learn and to reevaluate and to focus. He does not let me tell myself lies or be fooled by the ways of this world. He is constantly correcting me and reinforcing and drawing in the sand while he waits for me to catch up. He disciplined me in ways that I could not understand, but that were of the Lord and that I came to understand."

2 more to come!