Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday.  She is 31.  I was 36 when Kathy and I adopted her.  Kathy hadn’t been able to conceive once we had married and we chose to go the route of adoption rather than doing all the fertility steps.  My journey then was being a father to my two daughters: Amy and Amber and now we would have Angie.  31 years later my journey has brought 11 grandkids into the picture and one more that will be born in a couple weeks.  I had so many things in my life that were haunting me 31 years ago.  Today these haunts are stories I tell.

Everyday I pray that my kids and grandkids will know God’s freedom as I do today.  What I’ve had to learn over the years is that each one of them has to find this freedom for themselves.  Dad or grandpa can’t do it for them–as much as I wish I could spare them the cost.  What I do know is that my relationship with each one of my kids and grandkids has an impact on how they want to live.  Keeping intimacy strong is always important.  I’m learning so much more about this as my own intimacy grows between God and me.