A Letter to My Children

Alyssa, Nate and Anna,

I wish I had time to write you each your own letter...

In less than 48 hours I will be on my way to New Orleans to help out with the disaster relief efforts there. Travelling with me will be 11 students and a van load of people I don't know. Our goal is to help the people who have been so throughly devastated by Hurricane Katrina that even now, more than 6 weeks after the disaster they still don't have utilities. Its a modest mission: feed people DR workers and people whose kitchens still don't work. We've done all we can to ensure a safe experience, but one never knows...

Ultimately, the morbid reason for this letter is to make sure that if anything happens while we are apart, you will know how much you all mean to me. You are amazing children, far ahead of your peers in many areas of life. I love you all. I am proud of you all. I see hope for a bright future in each of your eyes. You have each,since the day you were born, been a source of joy and happiness in my life. You are often the reason I smile to myself when no else is there to see it. You are the reason I come home from work early sometimes. You are a blessing to me that I do not deserve and cannot repay. You are kind and gentle, intelligent and compassionate. My sincere hope is that you continue to grow in those qualities.

Regardless of the strange, sometimes harsh, twists of fate that life brings, I want you all to know that I will always love you. Nothing can change that, ever. Nothing that happens, nothing you do or don't do has anything impact on my love for you. You are precious. Never forget that. You are loved. Never forget that. Always remember, you are mine.

And more than that, you are God's. You will probably soon forget the song you now enjoy, "I am a promise..." But I love hearing you sing it. Your lives are full of promise. Not because of me or any other material edge you may have, but because God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. He loves you and want to have a relationship with you that will enable you to experience peace and hope and love and joy on a level that I could never provide. He loves you so much that He sent His son Jesus into the world to show you how to live and to be the payment for all the sin in your lives. And He says that you can have a relationship with Him if you just accept His Son into your life...

All you need to do to begin that relationship is accept Christ. Say, "God, I know I do wrong things. I can't stop myself and I know that hurts you, that justice requires me to pay you back for all the pain my wrongs, my sin has caused. And I'm asking you now to bring Jesus into my heart. Thank you for letting Him be the one ultimate payment for my sin. My life is yours, thank you for giving me life in Jesus your Son. Amen."

And its not so much the words of that prayer that count, but the attitude of your heart. Give yourself to Jesus, submit to His authority in life, and watch what God does with you. You'll be amazed. And I'll see you in heaven, my dearly loved ones.

Love,
Daddy