My Daddy's Watch

The Lord never ceases to amaze me! He is interested in our lives and has a plan for us right down to the smallest detail. He reminded me of this recently...

I was visiting my sister in Texas and we were getting ready to go to church. I put on the "finishing touches" and reached for my dress watch to wear. The choice was between that watch and my Dad's old, everyday watch that had been on his arm for years. I prefer my Dad's. It means a lot to me since he passed away a little over two years ago. But since it's big and obviously for a man, I elected to wear the smaller, more feminine watch. While picking it up, I felt the Lord say, "take your Daddy with you." The phrasing struck me as a little odd but since there was no time to analyze my thoughts, I simply put that watch down and strapped on my Dad's. No one knew me here. What difference did it make if I wore a man's watch?

We joined the other women from Becky's Sunday School class as they visited around breakfast tables. One young woman caught our attention. She was having a difficult time. I learned that her father had recently passed away. I recognized the lost look in her eyes. I remember, all too well, the desperate ache in the pit of my stomach and those days when you seem to have to remind yourself to breathe.

My heart ached for her. I wanted to let her know that I understood how she felt, but how do you initiate that conversation? What do you say to a complete stranger? Do you just walk up to her and say "I understand?" What if she doesn't want to talk about it? I wrestled with what to do for the majority of the morning. Finally, I felt that I just had to approach her. It had helped me to know that someone else understood how I felt - to know that someone understood what I couldn't explain.

I walked up to her. She was wearing a man's green athletic jacket. I reached out my arm and pointed to my watch. "It belonged to my Dad," I said. "He passed away two years ago." I'm not even sure if I told her my name. Her arms flew around me and she began to sob. I cried too. She explained that the jacket she was wearing had belonged to her father and she had lost him two short months ago. We clung to each other for awhile. It was as if we knew each other. We didn't, but the Lord knew both of us.

Our Sovereign God knew that the only introduction I would need to help a hurting stranger was an old, worn, man's watch. The Lord had a plan and it mattered what I wore on my arm that day. Not only was it the beginning of a friendship but it was a profound lesson for me - The Lord cares about the "little" things - because nothing is little to God.