having missed out on a human father/daughter bond i treasure images like this one. i'd read that this was a picture of joseph with Jesus but i really think it's simeon because he's rather aged. either way, whenever i encounter a loving, paternal male, it makes my experience with the Lord all the more primal. i watch my boys with their dad and how they'd be quite lost if something were to happen to him, especially now. they're teenagers - evolving into men. the father's voice is a vehicle of deep affirmation, blessing and protection. The Creator's voice is life itself: "when i was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body." ps. 139