At the end of my Father’s Day Blessing, I told the community to give their dads an extra dessert. I remember my dad and I going to Andy’s Ice Cream Parlor on Hudson Avenue to have dessert. He liked to order a vanilla milkshake. Not today's pancake syrup that ends up like a lump in your tummy. Rather, these shakes were made with real ice cream and real milk. They also were made in the old fashion stainless steel cylinder that kept the ice crème cold.Yesterday, I had this craving for an old-fashioned vanilla ice crème shake. On the eve of Father’s Day, my dad must have been nudging me to sit down for a moment and share a treat we use to enjoy together. Where does one find an old fashioned milkshake? I was in the mood for a real old fashioned shake made with real cold milk, skim milk would work just fine and homemade ice crème.
I never tasted a Cold Stone Creamery milk shake so I gave them a try. Regretfully, I discovered that instead of cold milk, the young person poured some pancake concoction into a plastic container that made the shake stiff as a board. I prefer to taste the cold milk and see the lumps of ice crème in the stainless steel cup.
That’s what I miss about my dad, someone just to pull up a stool and let him listen to my day. Someone who really was interested in what I was doing and someone who had the best ideas when it came to treating yourself to your favorite dessert.
That’s what God our Father has in store for you. Think of heaven where your favorite dessert will be made, “just the way you like it.” Not some gummy imitation, but served with the real fruit, or real vanilla bean, or real cold milk, or real “hot fudge and peanuts.”
Imagine God decked out with a soda fountain hat and apron ready to take your order and smiling with a grin that says wait till you get a taste of this.
God prays for us as we reflect: “ Be wise, my young son and daughter, and bring joy to my heart. (Proverbs 27:11).
Lord, I pray for all my Sunshine dads who are at home with you in heaven or the dads who are cuddling their babies and "little ones" to sleep tonight with a bedtime story. May we always be grateful for their sacrifices that they make daily in this life to keep us safe and warm. Bless their hands and all their good works and give them “Sunny Days and double desserts.”
