Reflections From A Dad

This evening my son Zachary and his wife Erica joined us at the theater to see, “The Greatest Showman.” My wife and I had already seen it but it’s a powerful film, and it was a chance to spend some time with them. I watched my son walk away with his wife after the film. This still amazes me because we brought him home from the hospital just the other day. My baby boy sure grew up fast.

Diapers and onesies are quickly replaced with hoodies and skateboards when you raise a son. It doesn’t take long then for girls to begin to catch his eye. When this happens every parent's worst fear begins. The technical term for this is, "please don't fall in love with a loser."

Now I know that no one is a loser, and everyone has potential, and blah, blah, blah, but you know what I mean. Fortunately Erica is wonderful, and we couldn't be more pleased. We’re so grateful he married a woman who loves God, and loves him. None of this changes that our little boy grew up, and this is always a lot to process. Legos that used to be everywhere now sit quietly in a bucket, matchbox cars sit motionless, teddy bears no longer act out stories, and the action figures haven't fought a battle in some time. The Bible says that, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 We have seen this in our son as well. He's become a man of God who has now begun his own family. He left his father and mother and now clings to his wife. That's what he's supposed to do. It was the goal all along.

When Zack was small he would regularly say, "Dad, look at me!" He would then do something amazing like shoot a basketball, hop on one foot, or simply run across a room. I would respond with, "Good job, son!" He never says, “look at me" anymore, but I still do. I look at my little boy who became a man. I see him with his wife, I see him coming home from work, I see him serving God, I see him as a man. I remember the journey with gratitude, and couldn’t be more pleased with who he's grown to be. "Good job, son...Good job."

Following the Son,

James A Williams