A Father's Day Story

Once upon a time, there was a little girl.

She loved to play with her friend down the street.

One Sunday, her friend asked if she would come over to play in the pool.
The little girl asked her parents if she could.
They said, "No, today is Sunday. It is church day and family day. You can play with your friend another day."

But the little girl only heard "no."
She did not like hearing "no."
A little seed of stubborn rebellion rose in her gut.
She went to her room and put her swimsuit on under her Sunday dress and told her friend, "I'm coming over after church."

The little girl went to church with her family, came home and sneaked out the back door and down the street to her friend's house. She laughed and played and jumped and splashed in the plastic pool with her friend. Suddenly she looked up and saw her big sister. Her heart sank and her stomach rose. She quickly blurted out, "I was only jumping!" knowing that her sister was sent to find her and would return home and tell her parents where she was and what she was doing. Guiltily, she ran home and tried to sneak back in the house before her parents said anything, somehow imagining they didn't already know.

She stewed and worried in her bedroom alone, fearful of the Wrath of Dad. She worried and stewed for what seemed like hours, inventing terrifying punishments in her mind. There was a knock on the door. It was her Dad. She opened the door. She hung her head and looked at her feet, waiting for the yelling and spanking that didn't come.

Her Dad gently took her by the hand and invited her to go on a walk.
He took her around the block. On the walk he explained that what she did was lying and disobedient. He gently explained why Sunday was church and family day. They walked and talked and made their way back home. When they returned, he hugged her and kissed her and forgave her and let her learn and grow.