The Joy of Fatherhood

There is nothing that will change your life quite like having a child. I thought I was ready for this until my son was born. Everyone tells you that your life changes and that you have no idea what you will feel for your child and all of it sounded rather cliche to me and then I saw him. I heard that first cry and held his little frame in my arms and the tears flowed. It was true. All that I had heard was true. There were and are no words available in any language that can begin to describe what you feel and the love that you have for that child. I never thought it would dissipate but I had no idea it would become even stronger over the next six months. Yet it has. This morning I went to get my son out of his crib and just as with every morning he looked up at me and had the biggest smile on his face. Yet this time I experienced a truth of God that I have known intellectually for some time but this morning I felt it in my heart. As I looked at my son who was beaming up at me I thought of what it must be like for God when we beam up at Him not because of something He did or something He has, but simply because He is there. Do I truly delight in Him? Do I look into His face each morning and smile as big as I can just because He is there or do I start each day complaining because I have to get up and get to work? It is strange the things you learn from those who yet can speak. This morning God used my six month old son to teach me that a love for God culminates in a desire for Him. Do you smile at God each morning or run your laundry list of wants or worse yet not even acknowledge the fact that He is there to wake you up to Himself?
DAW