A Few Memories

Well, as I begin to sit and type whatever comes to mind today, let's all sit back and see where we end up.

I'm here in the study listening to my ipod and the Billy Ray Cyrus/Miley Cyrus duet is starting up. If any of you parents reading this know this song, you know it's a real tear-jerker that talks about a dad having to face the fact that his little girl is growing up and spreading her wings to fly on her own. For any of us dads out there, this is a time I absolutely dread. I wake up every morning and see the picture of me holding Kaitlyn when she was only a few minutes old. I was so enthralled with her and the fact that she was finally here and was so wrapped up in staring at her, I failed to let ANYONE hold her that night.

My grandparents, mom and I still laugh and joke about this to this day.

There are some days when I know I'd wish some of those same family members were here to help "hold" her as she begins to really exert her "pre-teen-ness". LOL

It really makes me pause to think about life overall. How quickly it all goes by. One moment you have your children home with you, tiny and vulnerable, needing you and wanting you, the next...they're ready to leave home to start their own journey. I know I was once that young boy whom my mom and grandparents used to watch scurry through the house with my Batman toys. I see my own boy do that every day and I know that like his sister, it won't be too long until he too will be ready to spread his wings and fly on his own.

I hope my kids' memories of their young lives spent with me are filled with the same kind of fondness and joy as I recall the time I used to spend with my grandfather. He was always that giant of a man I looked up to as a tiny 5 year old chubby kid. He was (and still is) a huge influence on my life and is so much more than just a grandfather to me. He has always been the example I've tried to follow when it comes to engaging with other people.

I can remember the time together in his study at the church when it was just the two of us. He used to tell me the great stories of the Bible like David & Goliath, Daniel and the Lions' Den, Noah's Ark and the life of Jesus. He would play his guitar there for me and sing songs like "Gentle Shepherd" and one that always got him teary-eyed, "Old Shep".

Maybe that's why I get a little misty-eyed when I watch stories about dogs on TV.

I guess I'm writing about this today because I see how life goes on for each and every one of us. He has had a wonderfully full and exciting life and my son has so much before him. I am so grateful to God for the time I have left to spend with my grandfather and the time I have with my children.

My hope is that if I'm able to leave anything behind for my family and children, it will be the same kind of legacy my grandfather has instilled within me.

God loves you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for you so that one day, you may spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Already I hear my kids pray at night and it's becoming more than just the "now I lay me down to sleep..." variety. They are actually starting to pray from their hearts as they give thanks to God for His blessings to our family. What a thrill it is to hear these tiny voices speak to the Lord in the darkness at night, knowing it's genuine and so innocent from a child's heart & mind.

If I can give tribute to the Lord as well as reflect how well my grandfather brought me up, it will be in living a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. It will be me walking with Him, in Him and according to His will for me.

My hope is that 2008 is the year that my life really begins to bear fruit for His purposes. I thank Him for all His mercies toward me and that He IS the God of all gods, the God of second (and third...and fourth...and fifth) chances. Isn't it amazing to know that He loves us so much that if we but confess our sins and humble ourselves before Him, He has promised to take our burdens and cast them away from us "as far as the East is from the West".

And He remembers them NO MORE against us.

What a mighty, loving, able, righteous and holy God I serve today!!

Have an anointed, spirit-filled day with Him and I'll try to be a little more regular with these blogs. :)