I'm really composing this blog entry on a whim this morning, but for a couple weeks I've been thinking about doing it. The subject is the father-daughter date. It is inspired by my own experience.
A couple weeks ago my wife and older daughter (13 years old) were wanting to watch a movie together which my wife and I both agreed our 2nd-born daughter might not be quite ready for. Our solution was to let older daughter and wife stay at home and watch the movie (after younger children had gone to bed) - meanwhile our 2nd-born daughter (10 years old) would go to Starbucks and watch a movie of her choice on my laptop computer. I brought up the idea to daughter #2 during our morning dog walk. To my mild surprise, she wasn't unhappy at all that she was missing out on the movie her older sister wanted to see. Instead, she was excited to be able to spend special time with me and watch our own movie. She picked The Fellowship of The Ring. Good choice.
That evening was a special time. My coffee-and-movie date actually got prettied-up for me! How dare I treat this time like anything less than special. I looked slovenly in comparison, but I was touched by the importance she placed on this time with Dad. I reminded myself of my ongoing commitment to treat my daughters with the same respect I expect future suitors to treat them with, knowing that a young lady will knowingly or unknowingly seek out men who are like their fathers. For this reason as well as others, I need to be the best model of a man, father, and husband that I can be. Starbucks was noisy. There was no way we'd be able to plug in and watch our movie with all that noise. I bought her a hot chocolate (which she finished in barely any time at all), and after a brief time trying to watch inside, we moved to the car where I sat the laptop on the dashboard in a way we both could see it. It was lightly raining outside, but the interior was quiet enough that the movie could be easily heard as well as seen. We had a very enjoyable evening watching the movie. Inexpensive outing, but so valuable!
When we returned home, wife and older daughter had enjoyed their movie and time together, and me and my 10-year old little lady had enjoyed ours. Honestly, here is one man (me) that begins to get teary-eyed when he thinks about the special time and special relationship he has with each of his kids. This evening, however, was about daughter #2. She is a little shy, just like I am. She has the tendency to be a little insecure and to feel like she's not quite fitting in. This has been true of me too. She has been self-conscious about her looks. Again, me too. However, this same girl who gets down on herself has a tremendous amount to offer. This same girl probably does not recognize her real worth - but I do. Whether we're talking about her simple love of walking the dog with me, her care of animals and all things living, her spunkiness, her attention to detail and steadfast, patient, and almost perfectionist nature, she is a treasure and a joy. Her heartfelt and serious theological questions and pondering which have arisen of late also have shown her to be someone who takes the eternal issues seriously. She will be a great treasure and joy for the man who eventually wins her hand.
The father-daughter date really helped to bring things into focus. I am tremendously blessed to be entrusted with the children I have, and to be equally-yoked with the wife I have in our joint pursuit of shaping these arrows. When the time of courtship and suitors comes, I will accept no less than the best for my daughters.
