(This story is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent.)
We were just walking and talking. Hand-in-hand. My little pre-school daughter was talking about whatever came to her mind. Then she dropped a bombshell.
“Daddy, I’m going to marry Jim Bob.”
I stopped. I mean everything stopped. My feet. My breathing. My heart. Married!? Why would my little baby be thinking about marriage at her age? The very thought of it made me feel like crying.
“Really,” I said laughing a little nervous laugh. I tried to think of something “fatherly” to say. Then it hit me. This was one of those moments. A teachable moment. This wasn’t a bad thing. Something very big was going through her mind and I needed just the right words. And they came to me.
“What is it, honey, that makes you think Jim Bob would be a good husband?”
I don’t know where this question came from, but it came out of my mouth. I suspect the Holy Spirit was answering my daily prayer, “Lord, help me be a good Daddy for these kids.” My daughter proceeded to tell me why Jim Bob would make a good husband.
“He’s kind to me,” she said.
I felt my eyes getting wet. I knelt down and hugged her. “Honey, that’s a wonderful thing for a husband to be.”
She told me a few more things about Jim Bob that she liked. I told her it was very good for her to think about such things. Someday she probably would get married. A husband is a very important choice. It was a good idea to look ahead.
That’s my point in telling you this story. We all need to look ahead. Know what you want to order before you get to the front of the line. Saturate your brain with the Bible so you’ll know what kind of person you want to marry even before you start dating. Think about what you want you to do for the rest of your life before you apply to college. Ask God to show you the right path. The best door. The greatest adventure.
