E.T.'s 21st Birthday Is Today

The second half of 2011 and all of 2012 were years of tremendous changes for our family. Most of those changes required patience, maturity, and absolute trust that God was who He says He is. I believe that our three children living at home were the most affected. Nicole had just finished her first semester of college when our world was turned upside down. She has had to grow up in a hurry, and her mother and I are so proud of her and how she has handled the changes. Here is a blog I wrote a few weeks ago just before her wedding. To honor her 21st birthday, I thought I would repeat these words again. They say it so well for me...

In less than twenty four hours, my little E.T. will be married. It doesn't seem possible that this little girl that captured my heart when she joined our family as a foster baby, is old enough to get married. I look at her and see a wonderful young lady who is growing into the young woman that God intends her to be. And then I look again, and she is the tiny, fatherless, fragile, infant that I agonized over in the first few months she was with us. In an earlier blog I tell the story of how putting Nicole to bed every night changed my perspective on my heavenly Father and the care and love He has for me, and Nicole, and each of us. I also tell, in that blog, how she came to be called E.T.

As I write this, I wonder, "have we taught her everything she will need as a married woman?", "will we stay close, or will her new life change cause her to drift away?, "does she feel as bad as I do that we live so far away?" This is one of my biggest regrets, not living close enough to help Nicole and Nick as they finish remodeling their new home. I have given plenty of household repair advise to our other children over the phone, so for now, I guess that is how it will be for Nicole.

I am so happy for her, and Nick, and yet at the same time there is a growing hole in my heart that is full of tears. These tears have been spilling out at the most inopportune times. Letting go of children that you love dearly is one of the hardest things a parent must do. And yet, it is part of the cycle of life. One day she'll call us with the news that there is a little Nicole or Nick on the way, and the cycle will continue.

God is so good, and blesses us abundantly. He has blessed families from the beginning of time, and he has truly blessed ours. My heart is full of thanksgiving today. So don't be put off by this father's tears, they are tears of joy for my little lady's transition into marriage, and they are tears of joy for the years the Lord has granted Kathy and I with this treasure. And maybe a tear or two will be selfish ones that wishes time hadn't gone by so fast...

Happy Birthday Nicole!