A Father's Prayer

I write this blog with a lot of emotion. My daughter Stephanie is getting married in two days. Not only do I have the priviledge of walking her down the aisle, but she and her husband-to-be asked me to complete the ceremony for them after I give her away. I remember her saying to me, "Daddy, I have always dreamed that you would walk me down the aisle and then marry me and my husband, is that ok?" Of course I said yes, how could I do otherwise as she looked at me with those beautiful eyes which remind me of her mother.


Today I will be putting the finishing touches on my message to her and Ben, along with a lot of running around for wedding logistics. Things have gotten a bit stressful lately as we enter these final days before the big day, as they do in any family preparing for their daughter's wedding. And so what is the FOB (Father of Bride) to do? In a word, pray. Phyllis and I have prayed a lot for her and our sons over the years. Not only have we prayed for them, we have prayed for their future spouses if God desired them to be married. God answered our prayer in Ben, a fine Christian man who loves our daughter with all of his heart and who our daughter loves with all of her heart. But we loved her first, and that love will never end just because she leaves our home to start a new family. I always knew this day would come, and now that it is just about here, there are tears that cloud my view of this computer screen. Tears of joy for her, tears of pride, tears of gratitude for my wife who has done so much in raising our children and working so hard as a nurse, tears of gratitude for the family God has given us with our daughter and two sons, tears of letting her go, tears of thanks for the man who has become her primary love in life. She will always be my girl, but now I need to place her hand into Ben's. This isn't easy for Phyllis and I, would we ever be completely ready for this? But the time has come in the unfolding of God's plan for our daughter.

And so I have prayed for God to bless Stephanie and Ben as He has blessed us as a family. I pray that God would watch over her as we let her go. I pray for Phyllis and I that we would be brought closer together through this experience. In some ways this is harder for her as a mother and daugther share a special bond. I pray for our sons, Paul and Andrew, that they would blessed as they have a part in the letting go of their sister and the welcoming of Ben into our family. I pray for Ben's family as they experience all of this from their perspective as his parents and siblings. I pray for the details of that day (good weather, smooth logistics, everyone working together, that I don't blubber down the aisle, etc., etc., etc.). I pray that their marraige would be a testimony to God's love and grace. And I pray that even as we let her go, that we would remember that we are still a family, Stephanie is still our daughter, that we have gained a new son, that one day we will be grandparents if God so blesses them, and that in Phyllis' heart she will still be her daughter, continuing to share so much that mothers and daughters enjoy, and in my heart, she will always be daddy's little girl.


Love,


Dad