Happy Father's Day!

I've been a father for almost three years. And it has been worth all of the work, effort and lack of sleep that comes with it. The joy you experience when you get home from work, open the door, and hear footsteps pounding down the hallway and cries of "Daddy! Daddy!" You can't know how that melts your heart.

My daughter will be three in August. I know I've changed in those three years. You can't be a parent and not change. Just seeing your first child makes a change in your heart. Especially when it's a girl. Most men are protective of the women in their lives as a general rule. But that protective nature increases by unmeasurable amounts when you have a little girl. There is nothing that you will not do to protect her. I tell my friends that when my daughter starts dating that I will greet her dates at the door pleasantly, but when I turn around to lead them in they will see my .45 in a holster in the small of my back. They laugh. But I'm not kidding.

My son is only eight months old. He is a joy. A truly happy baby. Crawling to you and climbing up your legs. Ducking his head into your shoulder when you pick him up. Smiling at you with such a sparkle in his eyes. Fatherhood is AWESOME!! And as I look ahead to the times of teaching him to play baseball and soccer chills run down my spine.

Today being Father's Day got me thinking about Fatherhood. A bunch of questions have been popping into my head all morning. Practical questions like how to get my two year old to keep working on her grandfathers' Father Day cards and not get distracted. And more serious questions too. Such as: Am I a good Father? How well do I reflect the Love of our Heavenly Father to my children?

I'm a man and a sinner. I get frustrated and lose my temper.   I make choices that hindsight will keep me from making again.  I know that I'm not a perfect father.  But I know that God is helping me.  I also know that God chose me to be the father of these two children. It wasn't chance. I was his choice. God will daily give me the grace and wisdom to parent my children. So with God's help. I can be the perfect father.

That's what I would like to leave with every father today. You were God's choice! Your children weren't placed in your life by random chance. Every gift that God gave you the day you were born was designed to help you be the father of your children. With God leading you, you ARE the perfect father.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!