Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Daddy

If you know me or my wife you know that the last few weeks have been really busy for us. Blessed to say the least, but busy nonetheless.

God continues to pour out His mercy and grace on a boy who at one time in his life thought God might have said, "you really messed it up now!" It's truly amazing to see the days pass by that God hasn't given up on me and told me this. Instead I find that I'm now the proud father of a beautiful baby girl who is herself a miracle from God. He blessed us with life that we feared wasn't possible. It's as if God was personally saying to us, "I haven't given up on you, nor will I ever. Don't you know how much I love you?" And when I look at my daughter so innocent and sweet I'm reminded of the love God has for us. How he came into the world as innocent as Emily and changed the way we would see Him forever.

Emily has changed the way I see God. I don't know what it is exactly but ever since I've been able to call myself daddy I find there's so much love and power behind that name. Daddy is a simple word when you really think about it but one can't help knowing it's true power until you are one yourself.

When I became a daddy I instantly wanted the best for my little girl.

I wanted to watch the way people handled her to make sure she was safe and properly supported.

I wanted to watch her as she slept to ensure she was still breathing and as comfortable as possible.

I wanted to be there to comfort her when the doctor or nurse would check her out.

I wanted to hold her when she cried so she would know she wasn't alone.

I wanted to do everything in my power to love her to my fullest potential.

It's amazing how I'm still trying to find ways to be there for her.

And now I can't help it. It brings me to tears really if I'm being honest. Every time I think of these things I automatically see God doing the same thing!

When I tell Emily I love her I hear God saying the same thing back to me! I'll tell Emily, "Daddy loves you." And almost instantly I hear the voice of God saying, "I love you too."

I'll whisper in her ear when she's crying and say, "It's okay, daddy's here." And at the same time I hear God saying, "It's going to be okay Joe, I'm right here with you."

I hold Emily in my arms and rock her until she falls asleep while at the same time I'm resting in the arms of my dear savior as he rocks me to sleep.

But perhaps the best thing about being a daddy is when you get your baby to smile at you. Just seeing that small gesture of affection is the best thing in the world. It makes the world right. It's the best thing there is. And again when I see Emily smiling at me I think of God.

I wonder how much satisfaction He feels when He sees our smiling faces the way I am satisfied when I see her smile? Perhaps the most powerful thing of all is when we can make Him smile.

Emily makes me smile more than I've ever smiled in my life! She pleases me, makes me proud and gives me purpose. God is truly exalted and that "Daddy" bond is complete when we as His children can please Him, make Him proud, and give Him purpose.

Thank you father that through Emily, I now know what it means to be a daddy. Thank you for always wanting to be there for me and not giving up on me. Thank you that I can look to you and see how it feels to be a daddy.

3 comments:

  1. Beautiful post Joe... and actually, I bet your "Daddy" was smiling as you wrote it!

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