Faithful Friday: Father's Day

Father's Day and our anniversary are always close together.  The mingling of those two occasions cause an overflow of emotions for me.  Maybe more so this year, as we are on the cusp of our 20th anniversary.

One of the things I love most about Tim is the father he is.  From the very beginning, I knew he would make an excellent dad.  Kids gravitate to him and he just has this natural quality, an ease for parenting.  He's still very much a kid at heart himself so that's probably why they relate to each other so well!

Tim wanted children from the very beginning and, although I was taking preventive measures, he was beyond thrilled to learn of my unexpected pregnancy, just 3 1/2 months after our wedding.  I can picture his excitement and see the expression on his face, as if it were yesterday, when he raced into the bathroom and learned of the surprise.

Austin held Tim's heart from before he was ever born.  They had an unimaginable bond.  Austin was his little shadow, always wanting to be just like dad.  Inseparable best friends.  I know this is why the holiday becomes so emotional for me.  My heart just breaks because I know how much Tim hurts and how he misses his first born. 

Tim's love is just as strong though for our baby, Noah, who is now towering over his dad.  Unlike the surprise of having Austin, we'd tried for years to have another baby.  When we'd almost given up hope, he arrived.  With both boys, they came in God's timing.  And Noah got in his share of surprise as well, as we thought we were bringing home a Hannah Grace!

There's a picture collage on our wall that says, "Anyone can be a father...but it takes someone special to be a Dad!"  How true this is for Tim.  As a Dad, he has always been there for the boys, never hesitating to help take care of them and actually finding joy in the every day tasks of parenting.  He loved nothing more than to get down in the floor with them.  Even today I have to shoot a cautious glance to Noah, if they wrestle, for fear he'll hurt his back.  And Tim's been there for every milestone, each ballgame, and all the little life moments in between.

He's taught our boys selflessness, having a servant's heart, helping others, patience, resilience, laughter despite storms, and most of all a love for God.  It's always been his desire that his children would be strong Christians, faithful to follow God. 

The father of godly children has cause for joy.
What a pleasure to have children who are wise. Proverbs 23:24

Yet one of the most beautiful examples of the kind of father Tim is comes from him welcoming Tina into our home with open arms.  He never wavered, complained, or gave it a second thought to rearrange our life and bring in a little girl who needed a family to love her.  He's grown so close to her in the past two years she's been here and without a doubt I know he thinks of her like his daughter.  Tim's protective of her, firm but caring, and has given Tina the most consistent example of what a loving husband/father should be that she's ever had. 

I thank God daily for this man.  As as child I dreamed of who my prince would someday be.  Never could I have imagined what a wonderful spouse He'd send.  How lucky I am to share my life and parent alongside him.  Happy Father's Day to the best Dad I know!

Faithful Friday: A Father's Love

I'm taking you back to previous posts, this Father's Day weekend.  Mostly because it's after 5:00 on Friday and I don't want to miss writing another Faithful Friday.  Also because these posts do a pretty good job of summing up all that Tim, my husband, is as a Dad.  (And what a blessing he is!)

Sorry for the blog-hopping.  Consider it a road trip, down our memory lane, from the comfort of your computer.  Happy Father's Day...

For Father's Day... - from Tim's first moments as a father...to heartbreaking loss...to the loving and playful relationship Noah and Tim have now

A Father's Love - the bond that Tim and Austin had

A Private Island - a special trip Tim planned for Noah

Daddy's Boy - Noah and Tim, healing together

A Father's Love Letter

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is Will you be my child? John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Father

Faithful Friday: Unconditional Love

My baby turned twelve on Thursday.  This week has been filled with all things Noah.  I'm completely wrapped up in preparations to celebrate the blessed day he came into our lives.  With each activity, I hope it shows him a fraction of how special he is and what he means to us.

Earlier in the week, while away from him, I thought about how big my love for him is.  It's all-encompassing and expands through every fiber of my soul.  Being separated from him, if only overnight, just magnifies that love.  It makes me long to reconnect with him.  And he feels the same.  As I kissed him goodbye before the sunrise on Tuesday, on my way out of town, he grabbed tightly hold of me, yet still half asleep.  Once on the road, a simple text "miss you already" appeared under his name.

There is no greater love than that of a parent and a child.  They are a part of you, a reflection, and yet so much more than you could ever hope to be.  Even before he was born, like most parents, my only request was that he be happy and healthy. 

I've reflected on this throughout the week, comparing the love for my children to God's love for me.  While it doesn't seem possible that anyone could love me more than I love them, He does.  And just like I want the best for Noah, that's God's hope too. 

John 15: ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

It wouldn't matter what Noah does, I still love him.  That will never change.  Even as a toddler, still sniffling from a punishment, he'd crawl in my lap looking for affection.  Regardless of whatever small act he did to disobey, he received it.  With a hug and a kiss, he'd have the reassurance that I loved him still.  And while I pray Noah's path in life never takes him to a place of trouble, I would be there to love and support him through whatever he might face. 

God's love is the same.  He loves me anyway, despite my shortcomings.  Even though I fail, daily, his love is always there.  It is unconditional.  And that brings me great joy.