Rainy days at last and being a father.

It's raining! It has been an amazing summer. We've had a couple of thunderstorms this summer but they race through like a greyhound bus but there is no bus station. No loitering or just hanging out sharing their wealth. But right now it's raining!
It's a nice slow steady rain. A real drencher. The earth around me has sighed with relief. There is an end to this dry spell. A freshness comes with every drop. The catalpa tree in my front yard curls its leaves skyward forming cups to gather the rain. What a wonderful tree! I read somewhere the catalpa only produces enough leaves in the spring as it is able to feed through the summer. Not a fact i can confirm or deny. I have watered it several times this summer, I have an attraction to the tree. It's spindly arms hanging in many directions with twists and turns making one wonder how it supports itself. It's heart shaped leaves are shaped perfectly. It's seeds are long stringy stalks shrouding the beginning of a new wonderful tree. The leaves seem to be very tasty to the goats. They even like the seed pods. They produce a beautiful white flower with a yellow pistil, the aroma is overwhelming. Each spring a worm comes out of this tree, not sure where they come from but they seem to be one of the best baits for fishing nature has ever produced. Anyone you tell about the catalpa always asks about the worms, must be a lot of fishermen around. The black ants seem to have an attraction to something the catalpa produces also. It's simply an astounding tree. By the way there are two types of catalpa one has a straight trunk the other (the type in my yard) is a curly catalpa. How this post got hijacked from rain to catalpa trees I cannot explain but it did.
I think the origin was headed to a few thoughts regarding sustenance and support. It's nothing new. We face hundreds if not thousands of instances of sustenance and support everyday. The catalpa needs rain, rain is the sustenance it needs to live. In a good year it produces a huge number of leaves. As the number of leaves increases so does the quantity flowers. In a good year it supports a vast array of life. First is the worms, then the ants, the hummingbirds, the bees, the goats and the list goes on and on. If we follow the chain of needing and giving each species relying on the catalpa tree has numerous downstream species relying on them and thus the chain runs. I find comfort when observing this tree.
To tie all of this together... I have issues. Sometimes my parenting skills aren't very observant and quite unfair based on my daughters opinion. I have to agree with her. I am overbearing, controlling, demanding and constantly raising the bar I expect her to meet. If she gets a D in school I find it unacceptable. So I push for a C, by whatever means necessary. No becomes my favorite word and phone privileges are removed. When she brings a C we go through the same scenario all over again "a C is not acceptable, I want a B". Thus I raise the bar. She is always saying she cannot please me. I'm trying to see her point.
If she wants to go somewhere I always want more information than she gives. She says she's going to the movies or to a barrel race. My response is always where is it, who are you going with, when is it over, etc. She sees this as controlling. I'm not interested in her point on this one. I feel this part is my duty as a father. If I deem her desire to go out not well planned or lacking specific details I choose to not allow her to go. She becomes irritated and so the argument is on. It amazes me all the angles she chooses to argue her case. It is difficult being a father sometimes.
Something we sometimes take for granted is sustenance. There are times when life deals us a challenge that becomes insanely overwhelming. I'm tired of arguing. It really doesn't seem fair. I work hard to provide for my family. I try to give them anything they need and quite a bit of the things they want. I really wish it was simply comply with my desires and I'll be happy. Selfish huh.
Through all of the arguments, unacceptable grades, too many late nights on the phone, too many improperly planned excursions and everything else I have come to understand unconditional love. Unconditional is a very open ended word. Is it necessary? For all of the disappointments, all of the disobeying, all of the backtalk and how many other things I find that my love for my daughters never ends. There is no limit to it. There is nothing they can do to stop me from loving them. They might not like the way I show them my love. I require obedience not because I want control, most of the time it's really to protect them. It's to present a learning opportunity for responsibility, accountability simply becoming an adult.  The chain of sustenance and supply continues. If it truly is a chain there are links above me and links below them. The links below them are their friends, pets and eventually families. Above me is the link I receive my sustenance from. It's really just one link. My provider supplies all of my needs. My supplier has blessed me with a job through which he blesses me! He supplies me with peace in the times of trouble. He gives me a plan and a path to follow. He knows what is best for me and the links below me. He never lets me fall to a point I cannot get up. He never puts more on me than I can handle. He is the perfect example of all a father should be. He loves me unconditionally. When I need consoling he offers a seat on his knee, tussles my hair and reassures me. He also waters the catalpa in my front yard. He's really amazing. He is the definition of super dad! The story of his unconditional love begins in Genesis 1:1 and stretches to infinity. Am I worthy? Probably not but he says I am! Therefore I am as a pearl of great value to him. He knows the number of hairs on my head (even though very few of them are visible)!
The best part is he feels the same way about you as he feels about me!
Think about that!
Oh yeah, unconditional is absolutely necessary in every relationship!