"Larry Brown" - On hearing from my Father.

The last few months, we've been experiencing a rather weird thing with our answering machine on the land line. When going to check the messages - there shows 1 new one. Upon listening, there is one of our all time favorite voices - that of Larry Brown. There does not show a number on the Caller ID connected with the message. All that is said is, "Larry Brown."

I must confess to being a little crept out the first couple of times I heard his voice on the answering machine. For those not in know here - Larry Brown was my daddy. I say was because he went to be with Jesus on November 1, 2006. And while my daddy has actually never been more alive - by all earthly standards - he is dead. His body is buried in a cemetery we pass by when going through the town connected with the front gate of our highly secure gated community.

If you've known me for any length of time - or have read my notes or blog or articles that have been published in various places or heard me speak in person... you'll know that my daddy and I were exceedingly close. He wasn't just my daddy... he was one of my dearest friends later in life as an adult. He was/is most importantly - my brother in Christ. His voice - even when mad at me - always brought me comfort. It was as familiar to me as any voice could possibly be.

You might be thinking - "How great to hear his voice again then!" Or about how weird it is that I am hearing from daddy... We know it has some thing to do with when my mother uses what was his cell phone to check for messages on the land line. Like I said earlier - it did creep me out the first couple of times. Now I laugh and have to smile deeply. Why?

My daddy always taught me and showed me by how he/we lived life's moments that the most important relationship I could ever have was with my real father. Oh sure... Larry Brown was my biological father.. my earthly dad.. but he is/was not my real father. Larry could not save me all the times he tried.

While I will always remember with such tenderness and fondness the sound of my daddy's voice.... it in no way compares to that of knowing and hearing and recognizing that of my Real Father's. The love that my Real Father has for me is the most precious. It is priceless. It is beyond measure.

So, dear reader..... let me ask you...

Do you know intimately the sound of His voice?

Would you recognize it above all others?

Do you walk toward the sound of His voice or run in the other direction?

And if you are a parent - are you intentionally teaching the child(ren) you've been blessed with to want to know the sound of His voice?

There is no voice worth hearing more so than that of God's.

As always, dear reader, you've been prayed for!