An Open Letter to Madison

I've imagined your face time and time again, written your name in my passwords, dreamed of how you will politely wipe your grits off your mouth instead of spitting like other children. And yet, amidst my dreams and faith that you'll be here with us soon, I forgot about you. And for that baby girl I'm sorry.

I abandoned you when you needed me the most. I became my own worst fear - the potentiation of fatherlessness to an underserving soul. It was there, between the shadows of doubt and confusion that I let my own mind begin to sink deeply into a place where you existed less and less - where time ran its course only to have you not appear in my life. 

I owe you my sincerest apologies. 

In fact, I'm better now. And my love for you is no different today than what it has ever been. I am more excited now about your first words (which should be daddy). Or your little embroidered blankets that will smell like you. Those cat eyes you will inherit from your mother. The silky, jet black curly hair that I'll learn to comb one day. The way you grab my cheeks and "zer-berk" me. Your first tooth. First step. First spelling bee. First Christmas. First birthday. First community service project. first trip out of the country. First time interacting with other babies your age. Graduations. Rites of Passage. Being a big sister to your brothers. Those daddy/daughter moments we'll share over and over again. 

All of it. 

I've decided that you and your mother are worth my faith, my belief that I can't see Marriage or fatherhood in my present but I know for a fact that it is in my future. 

I've decided to put in 100% so that, God-willing, I can get that much and potentially more out of this experience. It is true what they say "you get from something what you put into it." So I'm choosing to be all in. I have a ton of stuff to learn and a million more mistakes that I'll make. But I promise you I'm here for you. I'll work hard to make sure you have a life that other children envy. I'll work on myself so that you always see my smile careen through any situation - because, baby girl, I'm choosing the joy of faith rather than the despair of doubt. 

I look forward to meeting you. And I'm choosing to immortalize this contract between us so that I'll always have a reminder that I made the choice for family. 

Love you Madison, 

Daddy. 

Grace, Mercy and Peace

Sometimes, I stand in awe, still wondering why God saw fit to save me from a life of sin and selfishness and usher me into a world where I have inherited just a taste of what he's capable of providing. It's simply amazing. I listened to the words preached by my pastor today and it truly put things in perspective. God, through prayer, offers his children three gifts: grace, mercy and peace.

Grace - God's blessings to us in spite of the fact that we don't deserve it. Mercy - God's covering over us to ensure his divine will for our lives is realized rather than what the world would have our legacy become. And Peace - the stability of mind, body and soul that comes from God alone. I just get overwhelmed with thankfulness in light of knowing what could have happened if I wasn't willing to let God answer my prayers.

I must admit - it hasn't been easy. There have been so many lessons that I've had to learn along this journey, so many ways I've had to humble myself in order to fully see the Father's love for me. But I'm taking it one day at a time and letting God's will take precedence.

Tonight, I want to pray for some of my friends out there who may not have anyone to pray for them. That they may experience God's love and respond in light of it. That they understand that even in the midnight hour, God can turn it around and make it work out in their favor. There's such a joy in my heart. I truly do believe in God's love and I want others to know it as well.

Here's to a great week. Be prosperous, be blessed, experience God's love.

fin.

Love Like No Other

We had been discussing the time frame for the wedding, noting a possibility for an August date. She simply turns to me and says, "I really would like to be married to you by then."

A familiar feeling met me at the end of those words - the warm sensation that travels from my wrist to my heart. But this time, there was a coolness that rested in my chest. It was pure happiness and appreciation. 

No one had ever said anything so nice to me in my life. It was genuine. And every part of my being could feel it - could connect with it. I could feel tears well up in the crevices of my eyes waiting for a release that was halted by the wide smile my face had created in response to those humbling words.

She loves me. And I don't understand why. 

If I had to carve out the man I would have for her, it wouldn't be me. The finest marble pulled from the most ancient, majestic tombs of Egypt aren't rare enough for her. She deserves the absolute best. 

Don't get me wrong. I don't doubt God's plan in choosing me. I know I'll grow into the man she needs me to be. But I still stand in amazement at the fact that another human being can love me so fully and authentically. It truly serves as my reminder that God's love is far beyond anything I can think of or imagine. 

Those words caught my attention. God spoke through her. He showed me his unconditional love by using her to be a beacon of romantic love. For this, I'll forever be grateful. 

I've used the words "I love you" before and they have held no more than the weight of the lightest feather. But I say them now with my whole heart. I can't wait to be married to her much longer either. It's almost as if a part of me is missing. 

I reflect back months ago - looking in the mirror at the person who had given up on the idea that he would be a husband - and maybe one day a father. To turn to my reflection today, I see that the devil had indeed tricked me. He never wanted me to hear the words that have changed my life - her words of truth and love. 

Well, God has the final say. I've submitted my free will to his divine will in faith that he will lead and guide me to be the man she needs for the rest of eternity. 

I can truly say "I love her" and furthermore, "I'm in love for the first time in my life." 

Thank you Father for being greater to me than I could ever be to myself. 

fin. 

Losing teeth

I liken my experiences to that of losing teeth. We all of to do it. It's become somewhat of a unofficial rite of passage. However, there's more to my interpretation than simply losing what was temporary and gaining anew.

Think about it. We all lose our first set of teeth - not barring their condition upon the loss. Some of us have near-perfect "baby" teeth, where losing them is simply a process of growth. For others, the release of rotten, misshapen, and/or unhealthy teeth signals a renewal.

Either way, we all lose teeth.

Where I am right now in my life is existing in a place were I have been renewed, given a brand new set of teeth, so to speak. A chance at a new life. In reflection, I can see how God has taken me from being a single, spoiled, selfish know-it-all to a more open, trusting, loving man. And yet there are some who stand to serve as a reminder of my "old teeth."

They use whatever tools they can to tear you down. You'd think they had never lost teeth themselves.

I'm constantly challenged by this. A wise preacher once told me, "You pay for sins and you pray for your sins." I can deal with that. What I have to learn is how to deal with the repercussion of having those "old teeth" but also not falling into a space where I can't at all recognize my new ones.

I stand in God's glory. Nevertheless, I am human and I fall into a place where I doubt whether this journey is truly mine. I need reminders that he's covering me, that he hasn't forsaken me. And where usually I am strong, I have moments where I am but a child - scared, hesitant to grow, nervous.

I can't let it shake me too long or too much though. It's exactly where the enemy would have me to be so that I forget what my calling is. I can't forget that no matter how I gained these new teeth, I was still blessed to have some.

So, I'm taking a mindset of thankfulness, instead of sadness or fear. I'm letting the father's eternal love draw me nearer to his promises, rather than cause me to doubt.

Ye tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

fin.

Becoming whole again

I awoke from the deepest slumber - numb, delirious, confused. At first frightened, my eyes began to focus; pictures and scenes come into view. They are all comforting faces. Familiar, though I have never met them. I am here.

Smiles celebrate my arrival. She holds me so affectionately. I will come to know her as my mother. A love like hers was unique. She would come to sacrifice much of her life to help me to become the man I am today. To grow and change and realize that my life was not my own. The example she set would draw me to find one whose back could bare the burden of childbirth, whose heart could amass a love and spirit of forgiveness that only the creator could endow one with. Whose kindness would fashion sincerity in the lives of those whom it touched. But, something was missing.

Many times throughout the life that was created for me, I'd ask friends and family to examine my side - to identify the scar that stretched from my breastplate and wrapped around to meet at my spine. And while my supporters believed my story of vacancy and absence, none could identify the scar that only I seemed to notice. It was there, though. Deep, intense, and real. But - only to me.

So, I hid.

That scar of imperfection disappeared in my mind just as much as it was invisible in everyone else's. I fought against my destiny - so I thought. I put up pretense to heal that scar with the unfulfilling love of others. None of it worked for me. And so I prayed. I asked God to lead me, take my pain away. Heal the scar and allow me to grow into the man he would have me to be.

And then I had an encounter that changed my life forever.

One day, after the chaos of life had begun to settle, I stared across the table into the eyes of one who made my years of hiding that scar seem like only seconds of embarrassment. Something was different, but familiar about her. Aside from her striking beauty and wonderful personality, she possessed a passion for life that literally made me feel whole. She was intelligent, driven, understanding and keen. Her business sense was uncanny, second to none. She would later reveal to me that she too had a scar, in the same place as mine.

It was then that I realized who she was in my life. It was in that initial slumber, so many years ago, that I could hear her voice, a creation begot from a rib of my side. One who would compliment me in so many different ways that being with her, in her presence, felt like a reunion with a life long friend. The scar had been God's reminder to me that I should never forget his promise to me. Even in eternity, he purposed for me to have her as my companion for life. This explained why no one else could see it. It was a door God had opened for me and her. No one had a right to what was destined to be ours.

I know now why life just didn't feel right before her. I needed to find my rib, to become whole again. When she's happy, so am I. When she hurts, I share her pain. When the world looks to harm her, I am to step in the way and protect her.

We.

Are.

One.

Everyday, we grow stronger, perfecting ourselves and perfecting the "we" God wants us to become. It truly is a blessing to be given a new life - an answered prayer that would become my blessed reality.

Proverbs 18:22
Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD

fin.

Daily Bread

"Alone in a room. It's just me and you. I feel so lost, that I just don't know what I'm gonna do. So I'm crying out - crying out to you Lord. I know that you're the only one who is able to pull me through. So, I need to talk to you. And ask you for your guidance. Especially today, when my world seems so cloudy. Guide me until I'm sure. I open up my heart."

I open up my heart.

No fancy phrasings or intricate superficial sentence structure to get my point across this time. Just the lyrics that speak to my heart.

I crave the Father's voice. I truly hope I'm not missing it. Until I know, I'll continue to pray for clarity, understanding, answers.

I. open. my. heart.

fin.

Her.

Today I saw her - in a way that I've never seen her before. She was happy, extremely happy. Her smile as wide as the Mississippi. Her eyes glistening with love and affection.

She was pregnant.

Carrying our baby girl, who tries to escape the wedding dress that adorns her milky, rich brown skin. We are dancing. I look into her eyes and there's a feeling that hits me - just above my breast plate. An energy, a hot sensation that crawls up my throat and lays down in the corners of my eyes. I'm moved to tears. There's a thankfulness, a gratitude that I just can't put into words. She's the most beautiful, precious gift God has created - and she's ALL MINE.

There's a sense of accomplishment present as well. Pure victory. I recognize that there are some who think of me as their enemy. Some whose lies to self have caused them to develop an unwarranted jealousy for us. On top of that, the enemy is NOT pleased. At all. And yet, we're here. We are victorious. We are ONE.

I've never seen it before, until now - an innocent run in the open park turned into a Godly vision.

I had to run today. I had to see what God had in store. I had to be given the vision of truth to dispel the tricks that the devil laid in front of me.

I'm a new man. I'm working harder. I'm MANning up!

I can't wait to see what God has in store.

fin.