But at What Cost?

Sacrificing what I wanted to do at that moment was just too much to bear, even if it meant demonstrating love towards my child. I sat in my brown leather reclining comfort chair, dad’s haven, phone in hand, engrossed in a speed chess game. Each move was calculated swiftly yet precisely. My focus intensified as I pressed forward, steadily but assuredly cornering my opponent, whose defeat was imminent. I was oblivious to my surroundings, so lost in the game that I hardly realized I wasn’t alone in the room.

Victory was peeping over the horizon, as the sun ushers in the dawn, when I noticed the top of a little blond head bouncing towards me from the corner of my eye. A split-second decision had to be made. Do I set aside my phone to embrace my child at the risk of losing a winning game? Or do I raise my foot to block him, risking harm to him but securing my victory?

Well, you’ve probably anticipated where this story leads. I chose the latter. My foot rose. The boy fell. I won my game, but at what cost? Honestly, I don’t think I even flinched as his momentum carried him straight into my outstretched foot, propelling him straight to the ground. It was a loss, a complete squandering of a precious opportunity to prioritize the future over the fleeting, to embrace the purposeful over the trivial, to be a man, to be a dad, to embrace a child who yearned for nothing more than the comfort of his father’s arms.

“And such were some of you.” This was my condition, my condition apart from Christ. Yet, I’m grateful that I can look back on a story like this and remember what I once was. It’s a reminder to never forget the transformative work that Jesus has done in my life.

Thank you, Lord, for changing my heart. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength to value parenthood. Thank you, Lord, for helping me see that an action as simple as setting down a cell phone can hold monumental importance to someone else, and have a profound positive impact on a child’s life.

In Him, With love

mike

P.s. You might be impressed by my humility in sharing such an embarrassing story, but please, don’t make a fuss about it. Instead, just be more like me. lol, kidding! I have so much further to grow but at least now I know.