The Embarassing Dad

Occasionally something really funny happens in life that doesn’t seem spiritual at all and yet upon reflection you realize something lurks beneath the surface. I had an experience like that yesterday. Of course, one of my children supplied me with some great material.

I was dropping Kimberly and Zach off at school yesterday and we were listening to some songs on my IPod. Because we listen to it in the car often, I added some music specifically for Kimberly so she is not left out entirely in the selection process. Save your comments, but I added Kimberly’s CD of Taylor Swift because right now it is her favorite.

Zach had picked a couple of songs and we had the windows down enjoying a beautiful morning. I then put on a song by Taylor Swift. Zach got out of the car first and Kimberly looked at me and said, “Daddy, roll your windows up.” When I asked why she replied, “I don’t want people to think you are a weirdo listening to “girlie” music!” Suddenly I had gone from thoughtful dad to embarrassing dad.

I rolled up my windows, dropped her off and laughed to myself as I pulled out of the parking lot. My third grader is concerned about how her dad is perceived by people who don’t even know him. We all have those moments with our parents. Did your mom ever do the “spit in the hand” thing to clean your face in public? Did your dad ever wear one of those outfits that were a cross between Mork and Urkle? Maybe The Fresh Prince was right and “parents just don’t understand.”

As I thought about it, I think we respond to God in much the same way. God, please don’t do anything that is going to draw attention this way. What will people think? What will people say? How will I look? Somehow along the way we have decided that our Heavenly Father must not understand what it is like here on planet Earth. Somehow we envision that he is just waiting to embarrass us.

I am not really sure I have ever been conscious of this thought, but I am sure that it has seeped into my life. I want to be different. I want to change. I want to see things as God sees them and have others see Christ through me.