Just Like Dad

 I have spent the first 37 years of my life fortunate enough to be the daughter of an amazing dad (see our story if you don't know it ).  But now I have also spent the last 5 ½ years watching my kids admire the awesome dads in their lives- and I will admit, it is so precious to see. 

 

I can’t lie, in the eyes of my children, it wouldn’t matter if I fell in a hole somewhere and never reappeared (except when they want something to eat) because I can’t begin to hold a candle to how amazing they think their daddy is.  If I come to pick them up from daycare I’m usually greeted with a sad face and asked “Why didn’t Daddy come get us?”  If something only allows one parent, Daddy is always the choice.  When there are bedtime stories to be read, it is always Daddy who gets the honor of reading.  When snuggles are needed they must always come from Daddy, and when Daddy can’t go somewhere with us there are usually a LOT of tears.  While I would REALLY love the opportunity to read a bedtime story every now and then, it brings me a LOT of joy to watch how much they love their daddy.  The bond they share is special and there is no doubt they want to be just like him.

Photo Credit: La Di Da Photography LLC

  I often watch them interacting and find myself humming one of the songs I know about little boys looking up to their dad.  Just this past Sunday, (a) decided he would wear a sport coat, because it is what (A) wears to church and he announced, “And I’m going to help Daddy do his job!” One day last week (b) decided he would put in contacts, because that is what (A) does every morning and while (A) was rescuing his contacts, (b) quickly grabbed the razor his daddy had set down and attempted to shave.  While it led to a cut on his cheek and another on his lip, he was determined to be just like Daddy.

 

And not only do they want to be just like their Daddy, they want to be just like OUR dads as well.  This spring, after watching my dad work in the sales box to talk commentary for a cattle sale, (a) made a determined announcement that “When I grow up, I want to be cowboy, a preacher, a superhero, and whatever Poppa Loran is!”  They have a ritual with (A)’s dad of singing a little song about riding a pony while they bounce on his knee, and now that he has younger siblings and younger cousins, (a) wants to bounce them on his knee and sing the song their Papaw sings.

Yes, this Father’s Day I’m so thankful for the guys who my little guys want to be.  And most importantly, I’m thankful they follow Jesus and set an example of Him for my little guys to see.  After all, He is the one I want them to be the most like.

 

Happy Father’s Day!!

 

“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers…” Malachi 4:6

Running

 In the spring of 2017, I took up running.  If you were a reader back then you may remember my story of feeling like God was specifically telling me to do this, even though I felt like it was a crazy thing to be “called” to do.  Little did I know what the next year and a half of my life would look like.  While I was never an amazing runner and never earned any awards, running got me through a LOT of hard days.  It was a great way to expend frustration, anger, pain, sadness, anxiety, and emotional weariness- to just go pound it out on the pavement.  Some days I even had a good cry as I ran, and by the time I was done I always felt at least a little bit better about myself and my life. 

(A), (a), and me after completing our first 5K in the summer of 2017

 Half way through my pregnancy with (b) I stopped running as it was really making my back hurt at that stage of the game.  Unfortunately, with two littles it became almost impossible to find time to go run and I have had not yet had the opportunity to take it back up.  Now with three I find myself running in a lot of ways, but none of them are down the road (by choice).  I am often running late or running down the hall after (b) who is usually wielding a toilet brush or plunger.  I am running low on patience, running on emotional fumes, running to grab a spit-up rag, or running a plan by my mom or my husband. 

 

I miss running for exercise, I miss running for my mental health.  I miss running after my passions, I miss running in-and-out of anyplace QUICKLY.  Running taught me endurance, it taught me I was tougher and stronger than I thought, running gave me discipline, and running taught me I was capable of things I never dreamed I could (or would want to) do.

 

I very much hope I am able to run again some day (maybe even sooner rather than later), but for today as “running” looks very different, I will remember even in this crazy kind of running- the lessons God taught me still hold true.  With His help, I am tougher and stronger than I think, and in His grace I am capable of doing things I didn’t think I could do.  And with that in mind… I will just keep running.

 

“I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.” Psalms 119:32