I'm a DADDY!!

On April 16th 2009 at 8:02pm our Son Marvin Elijah Nelson was born. He weighed in at 6lbs 4 oz. and was 18.5 inches long.

I am now the proud father of an amazingly beautiful baby boy...as you can see on the left!

Being a father is new for me, since this is my first baby. Many things I thought "I knew" about being a father ended up being the tip of the iceberg, or in all honesty...irrelevant.

I don't think there is anyway anyone can be prepared for what happens within the first week of being a father (or mother for that matter), because it is an intense introduction into parenthood. This has been the best, hardest as well as most fun week of my life. I've learned more this week than in any other week I can ever remember. Experiential learning always ends up teaching us more than any classroom or book ever could!

It's an incredible transformation which I feel I have undertaken. I feel a a deeper appreciation for my wife (who is a CHAMP!). I have an urge to look at my sons face every moment of every day...just to make sure he's ok. I also feel a deeper level of love that I never thought was possible.

I tend to shy away from silly Christianise sayings that sound canned and cheesy, but I must confess that being a Father for a week has given me a deeper, truer understanding as to how God my Heavenly Father looks at and loves me. This is no longer a cheesy thought to me, but a touching reality. God loves me more than I love my son.

If I have trouble going five minutes looking at his cute little face, how much more does God desire to look at mine?

I hope this isn't coming off as cheesy, but it is mushy...because let's face it, a baby makes even the toughest man get mushy (even is he doesn't admit it).

God calls Himself our Father. We are instructed my Jesus to pray "Our Father". We have a spirit of SONSHIP with Christ! This reality has hit home in my heart more now than ever.

I'm not naive to think that "I now get it" because I've been a Daddy for a week, but I can definitely say: "I never understood it all as I do now" and I can say "I can't fathom the depth of God's love as I thought I could".

Each new journey in my life has brought me closer to my Father in Heaven. Each new thing that he brings across my life narrative adds a deeper level of understanding. This is why we are "being made holy" (Hebrews 10:14). It's a daily journey towards God!

Lastly, let me leave you with this sobering quote from a great man named Josh McDowell. It is about Parents (in particular fathers) and how vital our role is in the lives of our children. The research so shocked Josh, that he called John's Hopkins to confirm what he read. Do with this what you will, but as for me, it is a HUGE reminder as to how important a role I have in my sons life.

"John's Hopkins commissioned two doctors to identify any contributing factors for five diseases and conditions (mental illness, hypertension, malignant tumors, heart disease and suicide) in peoples lives. In other words, would it be possible to say, if A or B were true in a child's life, that child would be more likely to experience any of these things later in life? After 30 years of research involving 1,377 graduates, they found only ONE common factor among these conditions. It wasn't diet. It wasn't exercise. Remarkably, the SOLE common link was the lack of closeness to one's parents, especially the father."
(Josh McDowell in Apologetics for a New Generation page 62)