“Many daughters have done valiantly, but you have surpassed them all.” Proverbs

“A man’s daughter is his heart.  Just with feet walking out in the world.”  Mat Johnson

“She makes the world a better place.”  Jason

One of the highlights of my week was attending a work farewell party for my daughter Meghan, who is starting a new job.  As I listened to what her boss and colleagues had to say about her, I was overcome with a sense of humble and undeserving pride.   This little girl who I first met 34 years ago had become an incredible and accomplished young woman!  But for all her success, the best thing I heard was from her co-worker Jason who said, “Meghan makes the world a better place.”

I could say the same about my three other daughters. They are four of the best people I’ve met along The Way.

I first met them when they were born.  Though long ago now I vividly remember the birth of each.  I was the first to hold these little bundles of life, that for me would become huge bundles of joy.   At that very moment they each captured my heart.  I held their little hands for a very short time, but I’ll hold them in my heart forever.  Even though they were each born of the same parents and raised in the same family, they are each unique in their own special way.

The firstborn is Katie.  She came into my life during my first year in seminary.  We were poor as church mice.  It isn’t surprising then that she became my little church mouse, loving the “habitation of God’s house, and the place where His glory dwells.”  She couldn’t get enough time with God, and with me when I was doing God’s work.  She would attend church regularly, even when she was working late nights in college.  She would meet me early for coffee and then go to the first service.  As a little girl she would frequently accompany me on visits to shut-ins.  That’s probably why she still loves older people.  She was the only daughter at my last service when I left ministry.  It must’ve been hard on her.  Katie has become a wonderfully loving wife and mother which I believe is the greatest calling in life and the best way to be about The Lord’s work.

The second is Kayleen. She is the “typical” second child, precocious and carefree.  And independent.  She walks to the beat of a different drum, literally, as she sings in a band that she started.  When she was little one of her common responses when asked or told to do something was, “You’re not the boss of me.”  Pretty apt.  I always thought Kayleen would’ve made a perfect 60’s flower child!  She is incredibly empathic and caring, and children especially love her.  She is like a pied piper for them—only in the best possible way.  She loves others, especially those who are marginalized or misunderstood.  She has a heart as big as she is.

The third is Meghan.  To a certain extent she got lost in the shadow of her two older sisters.  It’s hard to make a place for yourself when there are two big personalities in front of you that you’re competing with.  But she did!  She is on the surface quiet and demure.  She likes spending time by herself.  She always had her own room, which she loved to rearrange on a regular basis.   That quality would serve her well in her professional life as she is very attentive to detail and is able to evaluate what needs to be done and how to do it.  Underneath her calm demeanor is a young woman who is fun-loving with a clever sense of humor.  She was voted “class clown” her senior year in high school.  People are drawn to her, like moths to a flame.

The youngest is Molley. She was born in Papua New Guinea, which perhaps contributed to her fiercely free personality.  It also may have instilled in her the compassion that she has for those who are suffering, a characteristic that resulted in her becoming a nurse.  For a long time, she wanted to return to the mission field, and perhaps still does.  She is the life of the party, fun-loving, and has an infectious laugh.  Her favorite holiday might just be Halloween!  She is incredibly faithful to friends, family and her husband Derek.  He is the perfect match for her, as his personality is even bigger than hers, if that were possible!

On Father’s Day men are often given gifts.  I’ve already received mine in the form of these fantastically fantabulous four daughters.  Each of them make the world a better place in their own unique way.  Each of them carry my heart as they walk in this world.  And each of them make me grateful for the privilege of being their father.