Last week I abruptly entered into the world of fatherhood. Of course I had 8 months (the twins came a little early) to prepare, but as every parent knows, you are never truly ready for such a responsibility. The last week has been absolutely thrilling for Steph and I and we are amazed by God’s grace in our lives and the immense blessing that Elizabeth and Anna are in our lives. Amidst the craziness of this wonderful time of our lives, I managed to find some time to reflect on being a Dad and what that means for my life. This might sound a little redundant for all the parents and grandparents but these are just some of the things that I have learned over the past few days.

– I have been amazed at how much you love the little creatures. Before they were born, we knew that we were going to love them, but you really have no idea how much. The parent has an incredible love for their children, which is what sees them through all those difficult times of parenthood that are inevitable. This reminds me of the amazing love that our Heavenly Father has for us, His children. “How great is the love that the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” (1 John 3:1) Being a Dad helps me to understand this love a little better, even though I will never fully comprehend the love of the Father.

– Along with this, because of the Fathers great love for us, He must also discipline His children. The bible teaches that the Lord disciplines the one He loves (Hebrews 12:6). We don’t often like this, but the child of God desperately needs that discipline. And as much as I won’t like to discipline the girls, they need it too. If Steph and I did not discipline our girls, you would have to question whether we truly loved them.

– If I have learned anything over the past week it is that babies really need and want milk. When they don’t get it, you know what happens – they start crying. This reminds me of the child of God’s desperate need for the Word of God. In 1 Peter 2:2 we read, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” If we don’t have our spiritual milk, we will never grow in grace and godliness. Of course, just like infants, eventually we need to move on to solid food and not rely on milk for the rest of our lives (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 and Hebrews 5:11-14). We must grow up to maturity in Christ, just as the child must grow up to mature manhood and womanhood.

– As a father of these precious little girls, I now have a huge responsibility! I am responsible to provide, protect and to care for Elizabeth and Anna and make sure that I do everything I can to train them up in the fear and knowledge of God. Thankfully, the Lord has blessed me with the most wonderful wife imaginable to help me in this, but just like every other father, I have a huge responsibility. Truly, I must rely on the grace of God if I ever hope to follow through on this.

– Praise God! He has blessed us with these precious little girls and our hearts our full of praise to our Savior and Creator.

– As I have watched and observed Elizabeth and Anna, I can’t help but wonder all kinds of things – who will they marry?, what will they do?, how will God use them? These are just a few of the things I have wondered during the first week of their lives. Just like any father or parent, I really want the best for them and desire God’s blessing upon their lives. But I must remind myself that I have to enjoy the moment and not try to jump ahead 20 years because these growing up years are going to fly by.

– My life will never be the same again, but that’s a good thing. Being a father is a whole new ballgame, but I am excited to embark on this new adventure. Sure it was nice for Steph and I over the past two years of marriage to have all kinds of freedom to do anything we wanted, but children are truly a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:4).

– Our prayer for the girls is that they might be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41) and that they would be women of worship and prayer and proclamation (Luke 2:37-28). If you are unfamiliar with these verses from Luke’s gospel, they are snapshots into the lives of the biblical characters of Elizabeth and Anna after whom we named our daughters. If you think of it, pray for Stephane and I as we begin this journey of parenthood and please pray for Elizabeth and Anna. As you know, it is a tough world out there and we’ll take all the prayers we can get.