Our oldest daughter, Kristin, turned 49 earlier this week – and that’s difficult to believe. It seems like yesterday that she was born at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Hospital in downtown Chicago. I also won’t ever forget what it felt like to be a father for the first time. To this day, I find it almost impossible to verbalize the feelings that ran through me in the minutes and hours after Kristin was born. Janet’s Dad used to tell me that it was impossible for him to tell me what it was like to have daughters. I would just have to experience that myself – ultimately I did! And Janet’s father was right – what a perfect way to start fatherhood!
In all honesty, I could never have anticipated the joys that Kristin would bring to Janet and me throughout the years since she arrived on June 25, 1975. There are countless stories I could recount, but I thought of one in particular that I thought you might enjoy…
Years ago, and I mean many years ago, Kristin’s birthday was coming and I made the mistake of going to a chain grocery store to buy her cake. I thought it would be okay and was even proud of the fact that I found a cake with pink icing, something Kristin has wanted each year on her birthday.
Well, by the time Kristin blew out the candles, the pink icing was sweating (actually, Kristin called it schweating) and she was inconsolable. Rather that see her so distraught, I actually left her birthday party in an attempt to track down a decent birthday cake with pink icing. In fact, I actually found one and it was great. To this day, many years later, Kristin still requests pink icing (non-sweating) on her birthday cakes and this year was no exception.
While I ended up being a hero those many years ago, it has been a tough act to follow each succeeding year. For example, this year I ordered her cake from a phenomenal local bakery. She wanted chocolate frosting on yellow cake – with pink icing. Somehow, this year’s theme for the family to celebrate Kristin was mermaids. So, of course, dear old Dad paid for a custom creation across the entire top of the cake, especially for Kristin. I have to say that you really haven’t celebrated a birthday until you spend one with Kristin and take in the gusto of the occasion. Tuesday evening was no exception…
Anyway, I could hardly wait for the unveiling of my special cake after our dinner together. But before the cake, we honor each person’s birthday with several other traditions. We each take a turn talking about a meaningful thing that has impacted us by knowing, and loving, the birthday person. It’s always great to hear what each family member says – especially our younger generations… It’s really become something special.
So, to cut to the chase, the cake was a big hit! Kristin loved it! But me, not so much… Yes, the custom drawn mermaid, in pink and other mermaid colors, was awesome. But imagine my surprise when I cut into the cake to start serving and the cake was wrong – chocolate cake instead of yellow cake! I couldn’t believe it. However, as everyone else loves chocolate, nobody cared and the evening went on as if nothing had happened. But knowing what has happened throughout the years on Kristin’s various birthdays, something was bound to go wrong.
Luckily, we have learned to deal with and overcome whatever obstacles may be in our path. And that sums up Kristin’s life in a nutshell. She is absolutely terrific at overcoming challenges – and you can’t be with Kristin and not have a great time! She works with youth at a local church and is beloved by those who get to know her.
She has impacted hundreds of kids, maybe thousands, in their walk with Christ and has been at this long enough that she is even starting to deal with second generation families. As a parent, I couldn’t be more proud of her… So tonight’s post is dedicated to Kristin, our oldest daughter and someone who is on fire for Christ.
Tonight’s verse comes from the book of James. A simple verse, but a little more complicated to understand, we are told in James 1:18, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” This verse lets us know that God spoke us into existence, just like He created the heavens and the earth – and everything in them. He also created us as “firstfruits” meaning that we, as humans, were created to be above all creation, in the image of God.
My encouragement this evening is that God wanted and uniquely designed us, each of us – and He created us to do good works in accordance with His will for our lives. That means that Kristin and each of us has a divine mission to accomplish for the Lord of the universe. My prayer is that each of us will follow our divine calling and advance the kingdom of God here on earth. It has been a privilege to watch Kristin fulfill her calling these many years!
I can’t wait to see Kristin’s cake next year. One thing is for sure – it will have pink icing! Happy Birthday, Kristin, and to all of you, have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…