Right now I am sitting at a computer and listening to Lagwagon while I think about what lies before me. I never would have thought that I would be become a husband and a father, let alone think about what faces my daughter in the years to come. I have witnessed a lot of major events in my short life that have changed the world; some were for the better and many were for the worse. I look back on my childhood and remember a time before all of the fear and long for those times. Not for me, as I have grown accustomed to them, but for my daughter and for my wife.
At the time that I wrote this, you were probably sleeping. Maybe you have learned to walk already, perhaps you’re trying to take your first steps or even did today. Then again, maybe you are already talking and asking all of those questions that will inevitably drive your parents crazy. You may be in terrible circumstances right now or maybe you’re living the good life. I do not know. But what I do know is that, no matter what your life hands you, I will one day give you the hand of my sweet angel in marriage. I won’t just be giving you her hand but I will be passing on the responsibility of protection, unconditional love, security, encouragement, and a shoulder to cry on. And those, my son, should not be taken lightly.
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The Bible is very clear on how you are to love her, and I encourage you to study those passages. Please don’t just read them, but really study them with the knowledge that they will make you a better husband and father. I can tell you that you will need them. If there is one thing that I pray for you, it is that you will love God more than you love my daughter; that it will be in the love of Christ that you find the love for her. Of course, I will give you a few years before you start your study since, you know, you can’t really read yet and you probably stick any book your parents hand you straight into your mouth. I’ll let you overcome that problem before you start. But don’t expect me to always be so gracious.
When I meet you I can assure you that I will not like you. I will do everything in my power to make it the worst experience of your life. I will tell you I have killed a hundred men, two hundred lions with my bare hands, and one lion that I killed with the hands of a bear that I killed with my own hands. No one will be tougher than I am, and no one will ever be able to hurt me. I will know what you are doing at all times whether you are with Piper or not. Chuck Norris is my grandfather, Liam Neeson is my dad, and the man who I call Dad is actually just some random hobo I beat in a street fight in Mexico. And he was the only man to ever cause me to feel pain. Of course, all of this will be a lie, and I’m sure that my wife will be sure to tell you that I actually enjoy The Notebook and have cried several times while watching it. But don’t believe it because over my life I have developed a very particular set of skills. Skills that I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you…
I will tell you all of that because I will be afraid. Not of you but what you might do to her. When I hear her cry right now, it breaks my heart. Every tear that rolls down her little cheek is a sign that something is wrong. Right now those tears usually mean that it’s nap time, but I know that as time goes on
those tears will mean so much more; a classmate called her a name, someone pushed her down, her outfit wasn’t good enough, someone just doesn’t like her, or a boy broke her heart. I will be there for every tear shed. Whether that means a boo boo to kiss or a head needs kicked. Regardless of what it is, I will be there for her. And with many prayers and a little luck, that will be the example that I will set for her. I’m sure that I will fail in this because I am not Superman, but it is my prayer that she has chosen you because you have shown all of the qualities that I pray I can show.
One day you will take my place. You will be there for her broken heart. You will comfort her in the times when she needs it. You will make her laugh. You will be there when she cries. You will be there to hold her on the day that I leave this earth and go to be with the Lord. You will be there for the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. Cherish her. Cherish her for everything. Her laugh, her smile, her eyes, the way she makes you feel. All of the annoying things that she does. Cherish her. Because one day you will hand off your daughter to a man who she has chosen to love and she will leave to spend her life with him. And one day you will see a girl and be so taken by her that you will decide to spend your life with her. She will be the prettiest, most wonderful woman you have ever met.
But until that day, know that we are praying for you.