What is a Daughter?

Well yesterday I was asked this question, or more to the point , think about what a daughter would mean to me - and as I have always desired to have a daughter of my own I'm treating this as a need to understand issue in my own life. Having grown up with 4 sisters, which is excellent training for learning about the opposite sex- it does not necessarily (in my case) teach you about brining up a daughter let alone how to treat one. So after a night of seeking God and much thought on the topic I'm now going to attempt to write on the issue and being the wonderfully naïve expert I'm- it should a piece of cake, Right!

In the beginning God made the first son and called him Adam and gave him the task of warden of all he could see, cats, dogs, monkeys, sheep, camels, and a local elephant named Jumbo. Ok, there were lots of animals and Adam had the job of naming them and after that he got a job for Qwest writing phone books, Right ,the Union turned him down as his journey mans card had expired..

For the most part Adam was doing a great job, but he was lonely, I mean hey! he saw the monkeys mating and having families and while he was happy for them he probably desired the same comfort for himself. So I'm sure he told God all about his current predicament, Dad I want one of those, but what ever I'm supposed to call it. Go to sleep son and daddy will give you a wonderful surprise.

Next morning Adam awakes to find the most beautiful creation of God he has ever seen standing before him in all its glory. This is the first meeting of the first couple and the catalyst for the human race.

That first meeting with the FIRST LADY was the most remarkable of Adams life; it was the start of a wonderful journey filled with joy, sadness and in time, great pearl and eventually leading on to the greatest reunion yet to come to mankind. He called her women and I like to think he did this on account of his first reaction as he viewed her, wooooooooomann will you look at that? And then it was , will you Adam take this beautiful woman Eve to be your loving partner for all time to come to love unconditionally and all her off spring- and at that time in a world without sin and only glorious now everlasting, he yelled YES ,YES, with all of my soul, thank you Father,. Then there was the apple tree and early departure from Eden and it was not in first class in a cushy jumbo seat with soft booties, no it was on the conveyer belt with a baggage handler called ONE WAY CORRIGAN waving a nice sword crying no return and welcome to a world of hurt and suffering.

Ok, maybe not that way (just trying to loosen you up with a bit of writer's scope) but we are the product of their down fall.

In time I was born long after my great Ancestor Adam was laid to rest, 4 sisters one brother and like many of my fellow planet mates came from a dysfunctional FAM. Having no real clue as to what real love was, I could only guess at how to express it, feel it, or use it in a healthy fashion, and so with all my hurts and pains I launched off into an uncertain future. I heard stories of God and my first ancestors in church and school and gathered a lot of head knowledge. I was the kind of guy that when he went on a date would tell the unsuspecting female that I loved her, of course as you can imagine my relationships did not amount to much, but looks of concern and dismay, or shock and you were supposed to meet who? In any event having not had a mentor I left behind a trail of lets say sympathic women ,who proably said to themselves , Leave him alone he's quiet happy , or the next time I meet his mother I'll give her a piece of my mind!

I used to look at other families (that I viewed in my mind as healthy) and wish I belonged to them. I noticed how the parents would interact with the siblings and the general appearance of peace and cohesiveness that prevailed.

I remember a Jewish pal of mine who's father always dropped him of at school and picked him up later and how they hugged and kissed each other and how he did so well with his grades and communicated with fellow classmates and always showed respect for the opposite sex.I guess in some way I put him on an unrealistic pedestal, looking back now I'm sure he had his issues, but having the unconditional love of his parents had been well mentored and had some cool tools for life's challenges.

So what does all this have to do with the question - What is a daughter? ,well as I previously wrote Adam was the first man or more to the point the first man to call God father and Eve then would have been the daughter ,right? Of course and as God wanted his son to have the best and wanted to entrust his daughter to the best he blessed her with Adam and thus ignited the first family complete with all the wonderful passions and desires he created. Adams commission was to nurture and love unconditionally his charge and as Eve was a gift from his father this was a huge responsibility .He was enthralled when he first beheld her wonderful presence and beauty. But as time went on and as their relationship developed they became wise in their own eyes and took advice from a source other than God and what we use as our source determines our course. And so Adam was led astray and suffered the extreme consequences and lost his charges first dowry so to speak (and yes Eve was also responsible) and I also believe let Eve's temptation into his life instead of correcting her and standing firm! for what he knew to be right and true and chooses to use his gift of freewill in a selfish fashion and thus dishonored his fathers trust and love.

As males we shoulder a great responsibility for our soul mates or the women that enter into our lives, both at church, work, and in our families. It is our job to lead by example and as a result of the fall from grace it has become incredibly difficult, but God in his great wisdom sent us a savior Jesus to carry that burden and turn it into a joyous load, and when we slip into temptation all we have to do is humble ourselves and confess sins and we will once again be restored to our former rightful role as wardens of what God has entrusted us with, his beautiful daughters.

Last night as I sat drinking coffee and working on my laptop in a local coffee house, I heard someone call my name. It was an old friend and Pastor Randy Mooney. He was at the counter with his 2 young daughters about 8 and 9 years old, they invited me to join them and so we choose a larger table and sat down, we talked for quiet a while and all the time I observed how Randy lovingly interacted with his daughters and they with him -it was a wonderful example of a father doting over his children and meeting all their needs. He introduced then to the musician that was playing and the owner, in general he made then feel important and accepted and all the time I could see the beams on their faces as they felt important in Dads eyes and presence, I will not forget it - I believe God sent them there for me to observe as a living word of knowledge.

Michael.....