just like daddy

As I walked across my kitchen floor tonight, I had a flash go before my eyes. For a split second I thought I saw my dad. Not like in a six-sense kind of way but more like a reflection. There are no mirrors in my kitchen and nothing really to cast a glare and in fact it wasn't even a real reflection. It was actually me. You see, after 14 years I shaved my beard off yesterday. My daughters had never seen me without any facial hair and my wife could barely remember what I "used" to look like. Who knew I had a dimple on my chin. I didn't remember that being there.

As I stood in the shower tonight peering into that little shaving mirror I noticed how funny my upper lip looked. Then as I stared at my almost clean face I saw my dad. I remembered for a split second how his face felt and looked as he had that nice 5 o'clock shadow. I remembered that late night smell of his t-shirt... it always had that same familiar smell.

Later as I walked across the kitchen in my same old pajama pants (almost like my dad used to wear) and those house shoes that we bought him for Christmas year before last that he never wore and gave back to me and after eating my late night bowl of vanilla ice cream... I saw my dad. He used to eat a bowl of ice cream or chips and a slice of cheese almost every night. And lo and behold... now I am doing it. I wonder quietly what it is that I do that my daughters will pick up from me as they grow older?

And all of a sudden I wonder how much of him do I reflect? And better yet, how much of Him do I reflect? As we all strive to please our fathers or even our Father, how much of our compassion for others is in His image? How much of our passion is a resemblance of Him? It isn't all that difficult to decipher. He made it fairly simple. Yesterday, today, tomorrow... how much do I grow to be more like my Daddy?