How Rich is Your Family?

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty." -Unknown

"But you don't have any money," my daughter replied to me the other day when I told her a brake job on my car is gonna cost some bucks. She's very correct in her statement, as my bank account at the time is less than desirable. Do I sweat it? Not really, because not only has God provided all of our needs (and then some ) lately, but I'm also seeing amazing spiritual growth in my daughter these past few months. Let me back this up. Things have been tight for a while now- but these past few months the financial cushion has been all but eliminated. Somehow through it all though, we've made it. It's not necessarily the money factor that has me seeking Him like never before, it's what God is doing in both myself and my daughter.

I prayed a few weeks ago for God to "stretch" me. For those of you who have requested such things, you know to be ready when you ask God for something like that! My prayer request has been granted in multiple areas of my life since then. I'm being tested in all sorts of areas, yet through the storms I stand strong on the Rock of Christ and withstand. Not only am I growing myself, but in it all I have intensified my commitment to my daughter and her livelihood. She prays regularly for others, even got what I am calling her first conversion the other day. She basically told me she "made" a little boy believe in God by drawing a picture and some words. (Keep in mind she's still 5 years old!) Hey...that's a great start. I see her interacting with kids in a natural-born leader type of way, and she doesn't seem to have a care in the world. When I do have her, I've really been trying to commit to leaving the cell phone in the car or on silent while she and I are playing. We do homework together; we pray; and our favorite- playing board games.

Here's where I'm going with all of this: when we dads are involved in our kid's lives, they flourish. Here is one great statistic that sums it all up: "Children
with involved Fathers are more confident, better able to deal with frustration,
better able to gain independence and their own identity, more likely to mature
into compassionate adults, more likely to have a high self esteem, more
sociable, more secure as infants, less likely to show signs of depression, less
likely to commit suicide, more empathetic, boys have been shown to be less
aggressive and adolescent girls are less likely to engage in sex." These are the reasons we do what we do- not for our benefit, but for theirs. Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." (NASB) Where does it start any better than laying down our lives than for our children?

Dad, I'm not writing this to convict anyone in any way. I'm doing this to encourage those of you who are involved to keep it up; and for those of us (we all do) who have fallen asleep on the job when it comes to our sons and daughters- to use this as a spiritual alarm clock and get going! Money is a necessity, that is very true. However, it is by no means THE necessity. A friend of mine once said, "When it's all said and done, it's not the trips to Disney World and stuff like that we remember about our parents- it's all of the little things." I may or may not ever climb out of the financial pit I'm in, but I pray that one day my daughter will look back and say, "I always had clothes, food, and a warm bed to sleep in at night. My dad still found a way to get me some great toys and stuff, but most of all- he was always there. He made the most with what God had given him, and he invested in me." My prayer is that because of these sacrificial investments, she will grow and excel as a godly, strong, and confident woman- with a foundation built on Jesus Christ. My prayer is the exact same for your sons and daughters as well.