The Gift

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

On Coulter’s 16th birthday, I gave him a 1990 Mustang. It was his first car, just as it was my first car. It was actually the same car my dad gave me when I was 16. I kept it all those years, dreaming of the day that I would give it to my son.

My father and I had a strained relationship, but this car brought us together in our first real conversation. It was around this car that we spent time together, him teaching me how to change oil, brakes, and plugs. It was this car that helped us begin to build a relationship.

When Coulter was little, car seat in the back, windows down and sunroof open, we would cruise the famed 101 Pacific Coast Hwy on beautiful SoCal evenings.

By the time Coulter was 16, the Mustang was more than 30 years old. We had begun restoring it together. He wanted to keep it original, and even worried about restoring the interior too much, for fear of losing the smell he had grown up with.

We never got to finish it. I still have parts that Coulter and I bought, but we will never install together.

Looking back, the greatest gift my father gave me wasn't the Mustang. The car gave us a reason to spend time together. It created an opportunity for relationship.

Likewise, when I gave that same car to Coulter, the gift wasn't really the Mustang.

The true gift was the connection, the time we spent together, the relationship.

Our Father created us for relationship.

He gives us the example of a father and child as one of His primary analogies to help us understand His love for us and our relationship to Him. And He desires a relationship with us.

Coulter taught me so much, but the greatest thing he taught me was the immense love of a father. The greatest gift he gave me was the privilege of being his dad, the relationship we shared, the time we spent together, and the love that binds us together.

He was one of the greatest gifts our Father gave me. How I wish he believed and understood what a gift he was.

Maybe there is someone who needs to understand that about themselves today.

You are a gift. And your Father desires a relationship with you.

You Are Loved More Than You Know.

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http://www.coulterslight.org