Being a dad...

As things get busier and the hustle and bustle increases just days prior to our departure toward China, I've been thinking. As is my usual custom during times like this, I escaped to the top of a mountain where, after ascending a couple thousand feet, I turned around to overlook thousands of acres filled with valleys, creeks, mountain ranges, and blue sky as far as the eye could see. As I perched on a rock pinnacle, the wind pushed at my back and the clouds passed by causing a dizzying effect; I balanced near the summit and took big gulps of Crystal Light.

As a father contemplating all it means to be a dad, that flat rock and solitude made for the perfect spot to be alone and think. I thought about many things - particularly the blessings in my life. I was overwhelmed by the number of them. The foremost blessing on my mind was the absolute privilege of being a dad. Though the responsibility and magnitude of the job is vast, there is no greater satisfaction than having the opportunity to share my life and love with my beautiful daughters. And now that we're heading to China to introduce ourselves to the next love of my life, I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity - the sheer honor - of pursuing Elani to bring her into my life as my cherished daughter.

The irony in the whole thing is I have learned I cannot out-give God. God, being the ultimate blessing and provider of joy, continues to bless me beyond anything I could deserve. As I extend a pebble of love to my daughters, they provide mountain ranges of joy and blessings back into my life. As I extend a mountain range of love, they provide a planet of blessings in return. And as I extend a planet, they provide a galaxy. You get the idea. I have learned I cannot out give God in this manner. The joy I receive from being a father is the most pure, satisfying gift that quenches.

And as I sat on that mountain top, I remembered it all starts with God and the act of love he showed for me as he offered himself as the perfect gift. He is the perfect father and provider and defender. It is he who has extended himself and accepted me into his family. As Psalm so wonderfully states in 68:5-6 he is "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families..." God has accepted me into his family though undeserving and lonely as I was. I did nothing. He did everything. And as my family enters into this adventure of growing through adoption, it is I who was adopted into the family of God and it is I who owes everything. It is an honor of greatest measure to be a child of God. It is an honor of greatest measure to be a dad. And as I looked upon those mountain ranges from atop that mountain peak, as vast as those mountains were, they do not match the scope and breadth of my love for Kiersten, Madison, Malea, and Elani. As I look at our growing family I trust this upcoming adventure is just the next of many. I am excited, anxious, but not scared. The Lord is our rock and our defender. He is our foundation. No need for fear.

That being said, it's time to rock and roll and get 'er done! Live once. Live hard. Love often.