As Braelyn lays there screaming and with nothing that we try helping, we just sit with her praying for peace. She winces in pain and screams finding no peace in her ‘paci’… It is tortuous for us to just sit there, unable to help, while she screams in great agony.

To be a father is a call to suffer… It is a call to sacrifice… A call to joy and a call to fear…

Stephanie and I ponder what might be wrong with the baby. We feel so helpless and wonder what we should do. Should we take her to the emergency room? Should we wake our parents to see if they have any idea? Should we call the pediatrician’s after hours hotline?

She screams. Steph cries. I feel helpless.

It turns out, she was just constipated, and after some apple juice and a good ‘poopie’ she was fine. Smiling, laughing, and wondering why we were so stressed out. I have never been so happy to see a poopie diaper. Seriously… Who would of thought that I would be praying for poopie? But, there I was, rejoicing over the stream of farts, the wincing of my babies face, and the abundance that followed.

Having now worked with students in some capacity for 10 years it was always easy to judge their parents. However, now that I am a father, I realize the complexities of the day in and day out of parenting. There aren’t just simple answers and nothing ever happens the way you plan.

To be a father brings great pride and great humility. I don’t deserve such a wonderful wife nor an amazing little daughter. However, I suppose this is grace. Grace is receiving something we do not deserve. So, rather than sit here pondering on my worthlessness, I will rejoice in the worth I now have in Jesus Christ. For while I deserved eternal death, He purchased and applied to me by grace through faith eternal life. I didn’t deserve it, and I still do not, but I am grateful.

To be a father is a call to be a man. So many ‘dads’ more often than not act like another kid. This makes it very difficult for the wife to respect him and causes great strife in the family. It also diminishes the beauty in the distinct and unique differences between men and women. For, to be a father is a call to be a man. Not a chauvinist nor a pansy, but a man who is firm, fierce, compassionate, and loving. A man who does not fear death, nor fears living. But a man who fears God and leads his family to do likewise.

To be a father is a privilege. Sure, any guy can contribute to a new life, but not every guy who does serves as a father. It is a joy to have the responsibility of loving and leading a family towards love and good deeds.

I’m grateful to be a daddy… Please pray that I will love God, my wife, and my daughter as Christ loved His church, and gave His life up for her…