2 Corinthians 6:18: “And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Like others, I’ve worn a few hats in my life (both the literal & figurative type). Of all the hats I wore, the one I remember best was one I wore for Easter when I was about 4 years old. It was a white straw hat with a long blue polka dot bow trailing down the back. I can still picture the scallop edges and the open weave. It was my favorite of all time. But I don’t have that hat just the memory. A hat I never remember wearing is one that I treasure.
It’s a little knit infant hat. That knit hat is mine. It has a basket weave pattern, and a tiny peak with a little pom-pom on the end.I was too young to remember wearing that hat. I have seen pictures of me in that hat. I think it might have been white when I wore it. It’s now mellowed into a beige color. So, why did that hat survive all these years? Why was it kept? Why do I treasure it? It’s because my dad knit it for me.
Here’s the back story. My dad was a veteran of WW2. He would tell us that during the war he dreamed of the day he would get back home, get married and have children. He said that dream helped him get through the war. He made a promise to himself and to God, that if he survived the war, he would knit his first born child a hat.
Obviously my dad got home from the war. He married our mom and when my mom became pregnant with me, he did not forget his promise and he started to knit my hat. I don’t know what possessed him to pick knitting. He did not know how to knit. Maybe it was because he knew it would not be easy since he didn’t know how to knit. Luckily for dad, my mom and his mom were experienced knitters and helped him each step of the way. He learned how to read and interpret the directions, manage the needles and yarn and keep track of the pattern. He did a really great job of it. You would not know this hat was his first knitting project. It was also his last knitting project.
Love comes in many forms. In this case, it’s a little knit hat with a pom-pom on the end. Thank you and love you always dad.
Prayer: Our heavenly Father, thank You for always being with us and calling us Your children. Thank You for all the fathers and father figures in our lives who care for us, nourish us and love us. In Jesus name. Amen
