Advent Devotional – December 6

Peace in believing
May the God of hope fill you all with joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Ho-ly Spirit you may abound in hope.  – Romans 15:13

As a little girl growing up, I was most definitely a daddy’s girl. Maybe it was because my baby brother was five years younger and it was easier for me to “help Daddy.”

If he needed a tool from his tool box, I’d dig until I found the screw-driver with the end that looked “like the cross.” Yep, my daddy and I were tight. They even called me “Little Ralph” because where you saw him, you saw me.

In 1989, my daddy was diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer. There was surgery and radiation but we all knew there was nothing else to be done but live and love. One evening, Daddy and I were sitting in the swing under a huge oak tree listening to the American Legion baseball game on the radio. We weren’t talking about cancer, radiation or the inevitable, just swinging and listening. My daddy turned to me, looked me in the eyes and said, “You do know that I’m going to be OK, don’t you? I know where I’m going and I’m going to be just fine and I don’t want you to worry.” I said, “I know Daddy, I know, and I’m going to be OK, too, because I also know where you are going and I’ll see you there.” We just kept swinging and listening to that game.

Months later, I looked back on that time in the swing as the last gift he gave me. It was the gift of joy and peace in believing. So now, when I think of my daddy, I don’t feel sad. I remember feeling the joy and peace and knowing that someday “I’ll be just fine.” I hope each of you finds peace and joy in this Advent season — be it from precious memories from the past or memories in the making.

Father God, in this Advent season we thank you for the joy and peace that you give us through the promise of your precious son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
by Cathy Eller