To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter.  ~ Euripides

Today, my daughter gave me a Valentine’s gift, and asked me if I would be her Valentine.  How sweet it is to have daughters.  “Of course,” I told her, picking her up and hugging her.  “I will always be your Valentine”

Being a parent is the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done.  Once I had children, I realized that the other things I cared about were not that important – work, ministry, my projects, nothing.  In fact, I feel as though if I had missed being a parent, I would have missed the most important thing, in fact, THE thing that life is about.  Hard to express unless you’ve had children.

Even completely fulfilling my potential now takes a back seat – love makes me want to be sure to help THEM fulfill their potential – not that I don’t need to take care of my own body and soul, nor do I allow them to monopolize all my time.  Only that when these priorities compete, I often sacrifice my time for them.  

Love makes sacrifice less painful – the more you love, the less such sacrifices seem to be difficult at all.