Today is Esther’s birthday. She is now a 6 year old young lady. Esther is my middle child and is “famous” for her long red hair.
In the days leading up to her birthday I have been asking myself, “What can I give Esther?” She loves anything from the ‘Frozen’ movie, but frankly I’m just ready to ‘let it go.’ To be honest, I don’t know what to give her for her birthday. Finally, It dawned on me that there are some fabulous gifts that I can give her. These gifts cannot be bought at Walmart. They cannot be ordered from Amazon. They cannot be built with my hands. But – they are priceless. So, let me share them with you today.
Four ‘priceless’ gifts for Esther on her birthday
- Faithfulness. The gift of faithfulness is becoming very rare. One gift I have for Esther is that I will be faithful to her mother. More and more children are having the gift of a faithful father ripped from their hands. Being a dad who is faithful to his children and to their mother is one of the best gifts I can give. I will also be faithful to God. Giving up on God is becoming a popular idea. When life gets tough, I will remain faithful to God. I know what a gift it is to have a faithful father. I will give this gift to Esther.
- Truth. I will tell Esther the truth. I will not sugarcoat it. I will not tell her half-truths and I will not lie to her. I will tell her that life is hard and people are sometimes mean. But, I will also tell her that I will be there for her when life is hard. When people are mean, I will remind her that daddy still loves her. I am convinced that too many fathers are dishonest with their children. They do not tell their children the truth. Rather, they say what they think their children want to hear. I will give Esther the gift of honesty and truth.
- Humility. Esther sees sides of me that no one else sees. She sees me when I am angry. She sees me loose my temper. The gift of humility means that when I mess up, I will admit that I have made a mistake. I will apologize to her and ask for her forgiveness. I will not make excuses. I will not just ‘expect her to understand.’ A humble forgiveness-seeking father is a priceless gift to any child.
- Time. Esther is a middle child. This is not easy for her. One gift I need to give her is my time. I need to sit and listen to her talk. One of my favorite traditions is taking each of my daughters out for a lunch date around their birthday. I am always amazed at how much Esther can talk! She needs my time. She needs to talk to me and she needs to hear me talk to her. Every minute that I choose to spend with her communicates to her that I love and appreciate her. Those minutes are a priceless gift.
I am sure that I will also give her at least one un-priceless gift for her birthday. She might play with it for a while before it breaks and we throw it away. However, these four gifts I have listed above will stay with her forever. They will not break. She will not outgrow them. They will not go out of style. They will not be forgotten.
Dads – What about you?
What will you give your children for their birthday? Will you get them the coolest new toy? May I encourage you to set your sights a little higher. Give your children the gifts that only you can give them. I cannot give your child the gift of a faithful father. Only you can do that. Invest in priceless birthday presents.
Happy Friday and Happy Birthday Esther!
Stephen
PS – These would also make great Christmas presents as well…
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