Studying Up For This Daddying Thing

For Christmas, Elise gave me a book on Fathering. I had asked for one so that I could begin to prepare myself for the most important job I'll ever have. For some reason, having a daughter seems far more daunting (though equally special) . Perhaps it's b/c there's a foreignness to it all. I'm a boy myself, I have only 3 brothers, and I have a Mom that's been brazened by all the testerone of raising us four. My lovely wife is my lone coach in teaching me the ways of little girls. Having said that, however, I know there's a soft spot in my heart just waiting to be commandeered by Mia Grace. I fear, more than anything, just being wrapped around her finger.

John Mayer wrote a popular song called "Daughters" that really speaks to the power of a Dad in the lives and hearts of their daughters: "You are the god and the weight of her world, so fathers be good to your daughters, daughters will love like you do, girls become lovers who turn into mothers, so mothers be good to your daughters, too." Nice, huh? I would add a slight but ever so important twist to say that, as Dads, we have the powerful opportunity to show them God's heart for them and that their ability to love God directly ties to how we have been their father on earth. What a gut check job, I say.