Parenthood
I am beginning to get a better glimpse of God’s love for us through this thing called parenthood. As I just looked in on my little guy sleeping, I just can’t believe he’s here and ‘ours’ and we get the privilege of taking care of him. I love him so much and want so badly for him to know the love of Jesus in his life, and to love people. I hope I am a good example to him, because I know that is where he is going to learn it from.
As I start to think more about how much I love Harrison, I started thinking about God’s love for us. I know I have heard it said before, but I am finding it true now that I am a parent, that I just can’t believe God loves Harrison more than I love him…he wants the best for his life. He wants no harm to come to him, although because of this broken world, it will happen. And when it does happen, Kelly and I will be there for Harrison like God is there for us. Knowing this love for Harrison has brought a little more perspective on what it must have been like for God to send his own son Jesus to the cross. He knew it was the ONLY way to save us and pave a way to eternal life.
I can’t even begin to fathom what it must have been like for Mary. To raise a child, let alone knowing it was the Son of God, to comfort him if he got hurt, to love him and care for him, and then to see him beaten and put to death. I can’t fathom it.
Parenthood has been easy at times…it is so easy to love a child and care for him knowing that you are his provider and he can’t do it on his own. But it has also been hard, and harder than I expected. And it has been hard because of my own selfishness…not wanting to get up at 3 in the morning, not wanting to stop doing something because I enjoy it, wondering when I am going to be able to take a shower, wondering when we will get to the point when it will not feel like we’re taking the whole house with us when we go somewhere (and we haven’t even been on a trip back home yet). And I know there will be harder times than just physical exhaustion. But, when I think of the sacrifice that God made to save me from my sins, I am brought back to reality and whacked in the side of the head. We are so blessed to have this child in our lives and we are so blessed to know the love of God and I pray we can pass that on to Harrison and other people who come into our lives.
Filed under: Uncategorized on October 10th, 2006
As the days tick by, the love just gets more and more intense. Every day I can’t imagine loving my children more…yet every day I do. It is such painful joy.