Unexpected Blessings of Married Life

When men read the marriage brochure, typically what they see are things like love, sex, stability, security, and someone to provide for. As great as all that stuff is, that's not all there is to it. When I was growing up, my biological mom's second husband (Keith) played a very important role in my transition from being a teenager into young manhood. My marriage to Althea is my first (and hopefully only) marriage, but that is not the case for Althea, who has a now 12 year old daughter (Grace) from a previous marriage. My prayer coming into this marriage was not to replace Grace's father, who loves her very much, but to be another source of love and support to her and to make as much of a difference in her life as Keith did in mine. Father's Day is this weekend, and tonight I took Grace shopping for a gift for her father because Althea wasn't feeling well. At the store, Grace started looking around the store and asked me the following question:

"What would you want (for Father's Day) Chris?"

I am sure that wasn't something that Grace thought much about at the time, and it's unlikely she will even remember it as she grows up. That said, it meant absolutely the world to me to know that she thinks of me as a dad-type person, and that she values my opinion enough to ask my opinion as a man about what to get her dad for Father's Day. It warmed my heart and gave me some hope that my efforts to sow good things into Grace's life and to help her grow into the amazing young woman I know she can be are seeing some success...good times indeed.