Every advertisement for Father's Day seemed to compare their wares favorably to the traditional gift of ties. I confess to be such a church junkie that I hear a hymn every time the subject of “ties” comes up.
When I was growing up, when a church member moved away, we said Good-bye by singing the hymn “Blest Be the Tie that Binds”. To my young mind sitting all dressed up in church, I thought it was a funny hymn because although ties did bind my young neck, I experienced anything but God's blessing by that binding.
Here's a couple of the verses:
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.
Father's Day is a good day to celebrate ties. Not just the kind that bind the neck but the kind that bind the heart. I hope you called or visited your Father yesterday if he still lives to bless your life, and if not I hoped you visited him in memory, honoring that tie.
Think also during this “tie holiday season” about the other ties your heart wears and how their binds have blessed you. Maybe, in honor of the season, consider giving such a tie to someone else. A phone call, a card, an email, or a visit could make a blessing binding that folks would be pleased to put around their hearts.
And don't forget to tie on a prayer to your Heavenly Father! He likes to get those ties, no matter what the commercials tell you.
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