Our family will be celebrating a notable birthday this week. Tori turns sixteen. For some inexplicable reason Tori delights in telling me how quickly she is growing up. My response to that unhappy thought has always been, “I don’t want to think about it!” Whether or not I think about it, it’s happening. She is growing up.
The other day we went shopping for new shoes. When we entered the store, I naturally turned to the section with the shiny black and white patent leathers (no heels) and the shoes with little flowers and doodads all over them. She turned to the women’s shoe department with heels so high you would need a step ladder to get into them. Ok, I admit it. I’m in denial. She’s growing up!
Last Saturday night Tori attended the formal etiquette event sponsored by the youth group. There she was dressed to the nines. As I stood there looking at her, the words of the haunting melody from Fiddler on the Roof came to mind:
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older
When did they?
So what’s a dad to do? What’s a mom to do? Treasure the moments. Make every day count. The Bible calls it redeeming the time. Wring out of each day every drop of joy and happiness you can get, because the days fly by so swiftly.
Most of all, be sure to leave a legacy of faith in your child’s heart. Of all the gifts we give our children, there is none greater than that. To instill in them a heart for God, a love for Jesus, an undying commitment to biblical priorities is the best thing any parent could do for the child they love more than life itself.
So happy birthday Tori! As we get ready to go to Disney to celebrate your birthday, I have but one request. Just one. Please don’t make me go on Tower of Terror!
Pastor Todd Weston
The other day we went shopping for new shoes. When we entered the store, I naturally turned to the section with the shiny black and white patent leathers (no heels) and the shoes with little flowers and doodads all over them. She turned to the women’s shoe department with heels so high you would need a step ladder to get into them. Ok, I admit it. I’m in denial. She’s growing up!
Last Saturday night Tori attended the formal etiquette event sponsored by the youth group. There she was dressed to the nines. As I stood there looking at her, the words of the haunting melody from Fiddler on the Roof came to mind:
Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older
When did they?
So what’s a dad to do? What’s a mom to do? Treasure the moments. Make every day count. The Bible calls it redeeming the time. Wring out of each day every drop of joy and happiness you can get, because the days fly by so swiftly.
Most of all, be sure to leave a legacy of faith in your child’s heart. Of all the gifts we give our children, there is none greater than that. To instill in them a heart for God, a love for Jesus, an undying commitment to biblical priorities is the best thing any parent could do for the child they love more than life itself.
So happy birthday Tori! As we get ready to go to Disney to celebrate your birthday, I have but one request. Just one. Please don’t make me go on Tower of Terror!
Pastor Todd Weston
