Every parent has standards for their children...We desire to see our kids make progressive steps towards adulthood, towards life changing events. Some parents standards are High School graduation, some may be college...I am sure that every parent has multiple accomplishments that they desire to see their kids achieve.
I am not sure what standards my parents had for me. They did not introduce me to church, they did not explain the importance of school or how you treat people will impact you for years....They taught that life was hard, that street smarts were a must and that when times got tough, you could lie, cheat or steal your way to a better life. I was taught that substance abuse could help take the pain away, that if you were meaner than others you could get what you want....i am not sure what goals and ambitions my parents had for me...... I do know how proud my mother was when I graduated from High School and from College...She was proud when I decided to serve my country...I just wonder what couple of things she truly wanted to see me accomplish....
It is my fear that I am not a good father....I struggle daily with skeletons that are deep in my closet...I am afraid that my daughters will see through me, into the darkness that lies beneath...I am afraid that my weaknesses will impact my daughters futures....but I have goals for them....
Tonight one of those goals were met....a reassurance that I am doing a good job as a parent....
I am a Christian! I may not always act like it or speak like it, but my heart is full and without the Lord coming into my life in 1987, I have no doubt that I would have become like so many in my family....
One of my goals for my kids is to find God....To desire Him and for them to make their own personal choice in accepting him....I did not want to force it upon them...I did not want to make the decision for them like so many people do....I wanted it to be their choice....
Tonight my 9 year old came into our living room crying....We asked what was wrong and she stated that she was ready to ask Jesus into her heart....My 9 year old was crying because she felt it was an emotional decision and that she was ready....We asked her why she was ready and she convinced us that she truly was responsible for the decision....
So on July 28, 2012 Karis Mehkya Rhodes asked the Lord into her heart...
My first major goal for my kid was accomplished tonight and it gave this man a reassurance that despite my weaknesses I am doing a good job as a father.....
