Wednesday, August 21, 2013

For Cassidy

Tonight as I was watching my little get ready for bed and play with her magna doodle, I watched her for a few seconds and had a great deal of love and gratitude wash over me.  She has lived little more than 900 days already, and is so quickly changing.  She is learning to say new words and do new things.  She's so excited sometimes and yes, she can even be frustrating sometimes.  But the joy of being her father never ceases to fill me.  Even if it sometimes escapes me.

  I was thinking of all the things I would love to say to her as she grows up, and then I realized... Life is so fragile and fleeting that if something ever happened; God forbid.  Yet, if Jesus came back and I left her alone here... or if it tragedy struck and I was no longer here, what would I want her to know?

  And this is what I would say;

  Dear sweet Cassidy,

  I want to know that I bless you with every blessing a father can give his daughter.  I pray that you have the courage and boldness to reach for your dreams.  I also pray that you are deeply aware of the Father and his Eonian purpose.  I pray that even while you understand that He is largely in control of your life, that you never let that awareness prevent you from doing your best to make bold choices for yourself instead of letting life choose for you.

   I pray that you are deeply blessed, with excellent health the whole life through.  That you are never too wealthy that you lose sight of things that matter.  That you are never too poor that you become desperate and do something foolish.  Yet, while I pray for great things for you I know this life is not without suffering.  For that, I pray that you learn from each lesson and never curse God for these things.  I pray that you have a deep and abiding understanding that ultimately this life is but a pinprick in the vastness of the life to come.  That that understanding gives you the hope and expectation to bear through the pains of today.  I pray that those moments of suffering earns you a unmatched reward in the eons to come.

  Most of all.  I pray that you grow to be a gentle woman, and that life never succeeds in removing that from you.  You are fearless, and I pray that stays with you through adulthood and carries you through every challenge that comes you way.

  I pray that you love greatly, with compassion for all.  Ultimately, I pray that God gives you every spiritual blessing that only he can grant.  Love, Joy, Peace, Self Control, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness...

  Love your dad,

Travis Penner

I'm sorry if I'm sounding maudlin, or morbid... But why leave something unsaid when life is so unexpected?

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