Supreme Example

Definition of daddy (n)

dad-dy [ daddee ]

   1. father: a person's father, especially a young  child's      
   2. supreme example: the earliest or finest example of something
       Synonyms father, pop, papa, dad

   My son, Joah, already has such a sweet spirit about himself. It doesn't matter where we go or who we see, he puts a smile on the faces around him. Although he is "Mr. Social" (and has been since the day he came home), he has yet to say his first word. This had begun to make me very nervous. It's been a struggle of mine to see other kids develop at a more rapid pace. BUT today he said ,"DaDa!" This reminded me of two very important things:

   

1. No matter how much I want my child to do something or develop a certain way, it's ultimately not up to ME. 

   This is something that I am going to have to remind myself over and over as each year passes. It seems that everything I had discovered when researching child development put emphasis on the individuality of each child. The difficult part in this, though, is that I am a "won't believe it until I see it" type person. Consequently I did not heed to the research I had done. However, I know it to be true now. I have seen it -- now I can believe it.

2. God has created us in such a way that even the seemingly meaningless details bring Him glory.

   I was talking with one of my friends today about how Joah finally said "DaDa" and she brought up a pretty amazing point. The first word for most kids is "DaDa." As we began to discuss this, it hit me. God is the One who created this. He is our "DaDa." He is Joah's true daddy. He is MY true daddy. God desires for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. Jesus always talked about us having CHILDlike faith. Joah saying DaDa is a perfect example of this. We might not have the understanding of anything else in this world, but if we know who our DaDa is, we have everything. What I found when looking up the definition of Daddy was interesting. One of the definitions was Supreme Example: the earliest or finest example of something. HOW AMAZING IS THAT! I got chills down my spine when I came across this! Our God is so good!

   Being a parent is important. And as a mother, I know that God has called me to be nurturing, caring, and loving like Jesus. By no means am I saying that my role isn't as important as the father's, but I know how much value the father's example is to a child.

   I am so proud of my amazing husband. Ryan has exceeded my expectations of the father I thought he would be. Not because he is great, but because God is great IN him. He doesn't think he is the supreme example, but he knows that God ultimately is. So, Ryan, I just wanted to thank you for the father you are by not looking at yourself as the best dad, but knowing that God wants to use you as a father to Joah. To be an example and to show His supreme example.