There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.
-John Gregory Brown
This year, Father's Day falls on my first wedding anniversary. It was a year ago that my father walked me down the aisle, kissed me on the cheek and passed my hand to my new husband.
One part that I will forever treasure in my heart from that special day was the father-daughter dance. My dad took dance lessons for several months leading up to the trip and every time I was in town for wedding planning, he and I would set up an ipod speaker in the garage and practice our country waltz. Neither of us had performed a choreographed dance before (minus those ballet lessons I took as a kid), but turns out my dad is quite the dancer!
On the morning of our wedding, I was nervous. I don't think it showed, but my dad could tell. So he took me aside and we danced through our little dance in the quiet of my parents' bedroom. It was all I needed to set my mind at ease. My dad is just that good - he knows his daughter and just how to love on her at the right time.
That night, we danced to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. As the music played, my dad glided me across the floor with ease and grace. Spinning around the dance floor, I truly felt like a princess.
Those four minutes of dancing with my father are forever etched in my memory as one of those moments in my life when I felt just how much he loves me. And my father's love - such a unique, eternal, protective, everlasting love, a small reflection of my Heavenly Father's love - well, it blew me away.
This year has not been an easy one. Living far away from my parents has been difficult at times. Married life is not always as simple as it may seem. Life has thrown some curveballs my way and sometimes all I want to do is crawl onto my dad's lap and cry, just like I did when I was 5. But I am so blessed and thankful that I know my father's love, just like my Heavenly Father's love, is abiding and unchanging. My dad will do anything for me. He has shown me Christ's love for my entire life - and that doesn't stop just because I am married and live far away. The love of my father is steadfast and true.
And for that, I truly am the luckiest girl in the world.
Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you.
