A Father's Love

The love of a father can be an incredibily powerful thing in the life of a child. I was reading an article recently that said "An increased amount of father-child involvement has proven to increase a child's social stability, educational achievement, and even their ability to have a successful marriage later in life. It sets that firm foundation for the child to excel later in life. "

Doug's really embraced his role of "stay at home dad" through this journey and is at total peace he's doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing right now in taking care of Jenson. They are serious buddies... and so adorable together. You can see the strong connection in everything they do.

I was talking to my friend Cathy who is a teacher about it recently and she said, "Jenson is such a fortunate little boy to be spending so much time with his dad. How many boys and dad's get the opportunity to spend all day every day together, building that strong connection at such an early age? It's so important developmentally for boys to know and experience their father's love". She right, and as hard as this past year has been I can really see one incredible blessing that has come out of it in Doug and Jenson's sweet father/son relationship.

One big thing they do each day is go on hikes in the Oakland/Berkeley hills. Doug puts him in the backpack and takes him hiking on his back on different trails. They both LOVE hiking together. In fact, Doug recently tried to go on a hike by himself and said it "I don't like going on hikes by myself anymore. It just doesn't feel right because I keep thinking something is missing. I now really need the weight of him on my back for the hike to feel right". And what a compelling image too. The image of a father carrying the full weight of his son through a journey on the different trails of life on his back.

It's a perfect analogy for the way God our Father carries us on his back through challenging times in life. How He supports us and won't let us fall. Our Father has been our support through this time, carrying us on his back through the journey. And we're thankful for a Father's love.

Kristin