You Are One of God's Treasures

We're so excited to have author and teacher David Butler join TOFG as a presenter in Salt Lake City this weekend. His insights into the gospel have helped to strengthen our testimony of God and ARISE. We know you'll love him, too!

I was not old enough to rent a car the day my first son was born, but apparently the nurse thought I was old enough to raise a human, so she handed him right over to me in the delivery room. He wasn’t very heavy, only seven pounds six ounces, but the weight of responsibility that accompanied him was enough to make my knees knock. I was a dad. It was a pretty rough delivery, so he was a little banged up and would not have won a baby contest that afternoon, but he won me over immediately. A chamber of my heart that I didn’t even know existed opened up wide. A new kind of love flooded in. Little did I know the lessons I would learn about myself and about God as I continued to raise this little boy.

All of our kids have been a riot to raise, but Jack was particularly thrilling to watch grow up. His firsts have been my firsts. First teeth, first haircut, first band aid—all picture worthy. Jack trail blazed a path for me right into parenthood and I am still walking it.

I remember vividly the first day we sent him off to preschool. I was completely and utterly terrified. I could not handle sending him out. I knew Jack. I knew how to comfort him, how to cheer him up, and how to settle him down. I knew his favorites and his fears. He has a very unique love language and I had learned to speak it fluently. I was mortified he would be forgotten, be hurt, or be dismissed. He was my little boy and I knew how to take care of him. No one would be able to do it like I could. But off he went with one last nervous look back at the car and a backpack that drowned his little body.

The year passed without tragedy and soon we found ourselves sitting in a park for a springtime pre-school graduation program. I wasn’t sure what accomplishments there were to honor, but I went, clapped along, and filmed their entire lollipop song on my iPhone like a good dad should. As I was eating my piece of celebration cake, I watched something happen I won’t ever forget. When Jack spotted his teacher, Miss Denise, she knelt down and he ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her in the most darling and enthusiastic hug.

“Jack,” she said looking into his eyes with both hands on the side of his face, “you are a very special boy. And I love you very much.” She squeezed him one more time and then he ran over to me. Miss Denise and I exchanged smiles and mouthed “thank-yous” one more time as we walked away.

“That was very nice,” I said to Jack in my only slightly choked up daddy voice.

“Yep,” he said matter-of-factly, “She tells me that every day.”

I melted.

However over the top my level of first-time parent anxiety may have been in sending Jack off to pre-school, it was real. I actually felt nervous. Jack is one of my treasures and it made me shake to have him leave the safety and refuge of our home. When I saw the way Miss Denise loved my boy, my heart lit up like the Fourth of July. I will always praise, honor, and appreciate that woman for the way she cared for Jack while he was away from us. I took it personally.

That is how all dads feel.

I cannot imagine what happened inside God’s father heart when He sent us to this world. This dangerous and unpredictable world. A world where people are forgotten, hurt, and dismissed. He must have been petrified. He knows His children. How to comfort them, cheer them up, and how to settle them down. He knows their favorites and their fears. He speaks each of their unique love languages. He knew how to care for them. No one could do it like He could. How nervous He must have been to send us away from home.

Oh, how God loves the “Miss Denises” of this world!

I've seen her again and again over the years since we first met. I've seen her in the girl who is sure no one sits alone at lunch. In the mother who has an open spot at her kitchen counter for those needing advice. In simple, sweet texts, listening ears, and shoulders to cry on.

God is a father, and His father heart beams with gratitude, praise, and honor when He watches us look out for one of His babies while they are away from home. He adores his children. We are His treasures. And His heart melts when He sees someone love us the way He does. He takes it personally.