"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness
and all these things will be given unto you."
-Matthew 6:33 NIV
Dear Davis,
Your 12th year came and went so quickly. What a year it was! I can't believe its been 12 years since your mother and I brought you home from Gwinnett Medical Center. We were so young and I felt like I had no clue what I was getting into. Looking back, I really didn't! But thankfully, we have a gracious and loving God who provided your mother and I (and others ~ it has literally taken a village at times to raise you!) with courage, strength and compassion in raising you. I heard someone say that you learn more by being a parent than you do as a child, and you have certainly proven that!
This has been such a big year for you mentally, physically and spiritually. Upon your 11th birthday, you were wrapping up your first season of football. Now in your second season, you've earned a spot on the gold (starting) line. You may not be the strongest player on the team, but you give 110% on every play and I couldn't be more proud of you. You also exceeded every goal you had for yourself in the two 5K's you ran this year. I think you might just keep up with me in your next race, as you only finished a minute behind me in the Dacula 5K on Memorial Day! You have been a great example of perseverance and discipline along the way.
In August, you moved on to the middle school level and your mother is now your teacher. You are working harder than ever and due to a goof by your mom and I, you accidentally skipped a grade in math! Our blunder didn't even phase you - you just picked up the new material and hit the ground running! You got your own e-mail address and cell phone this past year, and I think you actually know how to work Mommy's Blackberry better than she does. You've also proven to be quite the reader. You are much more proficient than me in picking up and actually finishing a book. I wonder if an engineering degree might be in your future?
During this last year, you also improved your golf game. You got to spend some great one-on-one time with your grandfather on the golf course this summer and I know you enjoyed that. He is a great teacher and you were a very eager student! You've become interested in more grown up things like drinking lattes, baking and cooking, talking football and watching ESPN with me. Yet, you still can have fun like a little kid - playing man-hunt or hide-and-seek with neighborhood friends, for example. (You should do that as long as you possibly can, you know, because you only get to be a kid once!) You were so worried about not growing last year, but this year you are just a smidge shorter than your mother. In a few months, I bet you'll be taller than her.......and catching up to me won't be far behind....
The biggest event of this year, though, wasn't in school, or on the golf course or the football field. It wasn't in the books or out with friends, but at a Starbucks on July 5th, 2009. You gave your life to Christ that day and because of that, your name was written in God's book of life. You have always been our son, and now you are a child of God! It gives me such peace to know that you and I will be brothers in heaven when we get to meet Jesus. Every day, I pray for your journey and I hope that you will grow to be a man after God's own heart. Know that there will be bumps in the road (I pray you don't have any bumps as big as mine!), but no matter what, your mother and I love you and GOD loves you even more. He created you, so He knows your every thought, action and feeling. If you seek a relationship with Him every day through Christ, you will be amazed at the blessings He will bestow upon you.
You've been leading your football team in prayer before each game this season, and it makes me so proud to see you using your faith to lead others. Remember: God has blessed you with lots of talents and skills, and one of them is leadership. Use that to glorify Him and lead others to Him. You're not the biggest or the fastest kid on the team, but your coaches are impressed with you and made you a starter (and thereby, a leader). Showing excellent effort and consistent, hard work and giving GOD the glory goes a long way in God's eyes. He is truly pleased with you and what you have done and continue to do for Him. So keep up all the great things you do, Davis. Keep growing in Him ~ seeking Him ~ and honoring Him. Don't let fear ever get you down. In this life, you will succeed much more than you will fail. But you will fail at times, and that is okay. Often, failure leads to learning a more valuable lesson. And sometimes, greater, unexpected rewards come to us when things don't go the way we had hoped for or planned.
God has created you as an extraordinary person to do extraordinary things, Davis.
Remember that always. I love you and I'm SO proud of you.
Happy 12th birthday, my son!!
Love,
Daddy
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