Three feet tall and full of questions, she must have thought I was the smartest man alive. at seventeen, I think she still does. I didn't always have the answers, to every little how and where and why. Some of the questions you would hear are... Daddy, why's the sky so blue today? Does Jesus really hear me when I pray? When I grow up, will I be just like you? There are days when I would rather her NOT COME CLOSE to being like me. I have behaved so poorly over the years as a father. Some other questions.. Will I be tall and strong and brave? You know what men...? If we are worth our weight in salt, we will be there when it's cold, especially when they are lonely. When their little heart is lost trying to find it's way. We know that the world is always changing, but we have to remind them, that some things never change. When our lives on this earth is through, there will always be a part of us in them. Because some things are forever, nothing is ever gonna take my love from my daughter. I have a story that I will share with you all in a few moments. I MUST GET up the NERVE to type it out. You know, the one thing my seventeen year old has learned is... There is no power on earth like a father's love!! So big and so strong as a father's love. That love is a sacred promise. ...A promise from Heaven above. ONE of the things I think about and wonder about is--Did I hug enough? Did I care enough? When she most needed me, was I there enough? Enough to make her feel the power of her father's love... My answer....? A RESOUNDING NO! I am a good father. If she tells the story, I am on another level. However, I let her get away from me. Her mother left me after ten years of marital pain. She was unfaithful, but I wanted to make it work. Living by the Word of God is a rough thing. I went through some VERY difficult times over the years. I won't dwell there, for God has healed me in several areas of my life post those years. I have raised her via long distance. I have been a large portion of her growth, because my Father God has taught me that a father can still be a father even without living in the same home. The best situation for the children, and the Kingdom of God is always a WHOLE family. That will not always be the case, but the parents should always make a concerted effort to make it work. Over the years, my eldest daughter has visited me during the mandated times, and other times as well. I was never an absentee dad, I was involved. ...Still am. We have taken many trips across the USA (via car and airplane). She is seventeen, and is off to college next year. There is sooooo much more to put out there, but let me tell you this... Sadness comes along with the deal. It does. Tears come along with the deal. They do. I have cried my tears, and vented my frustrations about her not being in my home each and every day. Those are rough thoughts to deal with. I spoke with her today, and shared with her what she will get for graduation, if she maintaines an A/B average. She about came through the phone! She again has some incentive to overachieve. She is such a wonderful teen who has shown that she can't be trusted, and also that she can be a really powerful young godly woman--if she trusts the Lord God, Adonai. She will be fine. We still discuss her husband. She still hears her dad pray in her hearing about her virginity and husband's virginity. These are futuristic prayers of faith! They are also prayers that become SEED to her heart, mind and spirit. I am dad. Yes! That is who I am.... Mostly, I want to become a father--like my Heavenly Father! That is who I want to be! That IS my Quest!!!