To My Husband, On Your First Father’s Day

This is another one of those posts I didn’t plan to write. I didn’t have this on my ‘blog calendar’ for the week, but the Lord really laid this on my heart. Sunday will be my husband’s first Father’s Day. I have spent a lot of this week thinking about what that means for him, for me and for our family.

Dear Josh,

This Sunday will be such a special day for you, for our family, it is your FIRST Father’s Day! How cool? Looking back almost 7 years ago, I don’t think either of us could ever have imagined the journey we would have traveled thus far. We have had our ups and downs, we have been through trials and laughter, we have seen joy and much sorrow. We have been through the deaths of so many close family members, and seen the birth of new ones.

Last year, one sweet day in May, our lives changed forever. They say “two pink lines change everything”, but I don’t think we really knew how true that was, until we experienced it. You stood by my side through my entire pregnancy. You were there through the morning (and evening) sickness, the swollen feet, the leg cramps, the high blood pressure, the bed rest, the hospitalization, the 18 hours of labor and scary moments that led to my C-section. You were the first person to hold our son. You held my hand and cried with me as we heard him cry for the first time. You helped me in and out of bed after my C-section. You stayed up with our son the first night, when I needed rest so badly. You smiled and laughed with me as we celebrated the life of this precious little one we call ours.

The day after his birth, you knew something was wrong. You knew, maybe even more than I did, that our little one was sick. You vocalized that concern, a concern which I am convinced saved our little boy’s life. You were the one by my side when we walked down the hall to see our little boy hooked up to oxygen and the concerned look on the doctor’s and nurses’ faces as they tried to find out what was wrong. You held me up when I could barely stand, but refused to leave his side. You were strong, when I couldn’t be. You cried with me, you held me while I cried. You walked up and down the hospital halls with me, when I could barely walk, to see our little one in the NICU. You sat with me while I held him, wires and monitors hooked to every part of his body. You rejoiced with me at every milestone throughout his journey in the NICU, when we found out they were cutting his oxygen down, when we found out he was finally on ‘room air’, when they turned the warmer off, when his vitals finally started regulating. You cried tears of joy with me when our sweet little boy was finally brought back into our room, days later. You selflessly did anything that I asked during our almost 2 week hospital stay. I know that I wasn’t easy to deal with, I know that it was the hardest situation that we have endured during our relationship. You stayed. You cried. You smiled. You held me. You were there.

Can you believe all of that was almost 6 months ago? We have been ‘mommy and daddy’ for almost 6 months! It hasn’t been an easy journey. We have learned a lot. We have laughed together at diaper blow outs, we have had stressful moments with barking dogs and a crying baby. We have learned, slowly, how to balance it all.

You have not only given me the greatest gift in our son, but you also gave me the gift of being able to stay at home and raise him. You saw the desire in my heart to be at home with him, to be a homemaker. You prayed and you felt that the Lord was leading our family in that direction. You have given me the opportunity to live this amazing life that I live. You work hard. You work hard for our family and because you know that it is what the Lord has called you to do. You go to school full-time, you work full-time and you come home and give your family all of you. 

Although you may have not had the perfect childhood, you strive to give our son (and future children) the best childhood possible. You see the need to make Christ the center of our home. You lead our family in a way that most men do not understand or even see the need to. You wake up early to read your Bible and pray, you listen to sermons throughout the day and you come home and read to our son. You make Christ the center of our home, even when I lose focus. You love me as you are called to and you are raising our son the in the Biblical way that a father is called to raise his son. You are such a blessing to me and our family. I am so thankful for the spiritual leader that you are, the Godly man that you are, the loving husband and amazing father that you are. You have grown into more than I could have ever asked for in a husband and partner in life. I may not always show it, but I am so thankful for you.

You are the rock in our family, you are my best friend, partner in everything, confidant, and the best dad to our sweet little boy. I love you, I am so thankful for you and the man that you are. I hope that this Father’s Day and every Father’s Day after is all that you want it to be. I hope you know how much we love you. I hope you know how much I truly appreciate and respect you. 

Love, Me