Tonight I held one of my sons as I walked around his bedroom, trying to coax him to sleep.  This particular child of mine loves trains, his mother and wearing boots, among other things.  He always runs to me when I come home from work.  Whatever I'm doing, he's right there, saying "Try?" when he wants to give it a shot.  He wants few things more than to be like his Daddy.  And, that breaks my heart when I think about how impatient I can be sometimes with him, his brothers and sister. As I settled in to write tonight, I stood guilty of having not taken the time to listen to the thoughts of my children.  I had not allowed myself to enjoy their company, or them to enjoy mine, leaving me wondering why they even care to.

If you ever find yourself feeling like I do tonight, take heart.  We are exactly where the Lord wants us to be.  Now, God doesn't want us to live in a perpetual state of remorse.  But, He does want us to understand that there is no better starting point from which we can be molded by the hand of the Potter into what He wants us to become.  My kids don't need more of me.  They need more of the Lord whose Spirit lives in me.  Ask Him for the wisdom to be the man you need to be, and ask knowing that He will give it (James 1:5).  Confess these faults to Him and learn from Him how a Daddy loves His children.  Don't lose another moment with your favorite people in the world.