Fathering in His image

All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
And great shall be the peace of your children.
Isaiah 54:13

I remember a friend of mine told me years ago “I know you’re good with the bible and all that but having a child will give you an even better understanding of the love of God”. At the time, I accepted their judgment on the issue as I had no evidence to disagree with them. Having now crossed over to the other side, I totally get it. Not only do I have a greater scope of God’s love, but my relationship with Him as a Person has also increased as I can now see things from His perspective as a father.

One of the great ironies is that the very first time love is mentioned in the bible, you will find the name of my first child in the same verse. Considering I don’t do coincidences, this can only be divine right?

When people ask me how we got the name Moriah, I know God gave me the name but I cannot pinpoint how. I just always knew it would be her name very similar to how one knows their mother is their mother. I’m a firm believer that God should give you the name of your child considering He knows why they were sent to Earth and names are very much linked to destiny. Take Abraham, Jacob, and Jesus as examples.

“Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.””

Genesis 22:2 NKJV

May 2017 my life changed forever when Simi and I found out we will be parents. It wasn’t a shock as primary school sex education taught us how children are made in the natural but what they didn’t teach us was how God’s hand is all over a child in the gestation period. One of my close friends is a doctor and she tells me how miraculous it is for a child to be born due to the many intricacies and possible complications.

Fast forward to February 2018, Simi’s water broke so we drove to the hospital in eager anticipation of our daughter being born. We found out she pooped inside the womb and there was an urgent need for her to be delivered. Initially, Simi was against being induced but due to the likelihood of Moriah swallowing and inhaling the polluted water the midwives were more insistent and she initially agreed. After an intense 36 hour labour and an emergency C-section, our little princess was born and all the pain both my wife and I had just endured seemed to vanish.

Generally, when we consider God’s love, it’s usually from the perspective of Jesus enduring the physical pain of being beaten and placed on the cross. Consider the pain the Father endured watching His only Son go through that trauma. I felt similar pain watching Simi go through the pain of labour and it was distressing to say the least, knowing I could do nothing about it. But seeing the prize that was coming out of this pain made it worth it and in the same manner, the Father considered us worth seeing His Son go through that pain demonstrating His love for us. After all, unlike me, He could have stopped the pain of His Son at the cross at any time.

Welcome to the world

It’s been just over a year into me being a father and I can categorically say it is one of the best journeys ever. The responsibility is massive but I know I’m not in this journey without God and my amazing wife as my support system. For starters, I can’t even afford to go without prayer because His strength and wisdom are needed to raise this precious gem.

My relationship with finances has dramatically changed since being a father. Before I used to get nervous when my account wasn’t reading as favourably as I would have liked until one day the Holy Spirit spoke to me about Moriah. I don’t think there has ever been a time when she has ever wondered, “am I going to eat today?” For those that don’t know, Moriah really loves her food, she has my DNA after all! Whenever I go into the kitchen (even to wash my hands) she is waiting in anticipation for me to return with something to go into her mouth. Sometimes I have to disappoint her as I want her to grow up with her mother’s figure rather than mine. Nevertheless, she never has to worry about her daily needs being catered for as she knows her father as her covered which gives her the benefit of enjoying her life. I have learnt to translate that mentality into my relationship with my heavenly Father and the freedom is immense. Living a life where I do not have to worry about bills eases me completely as I know He has my back. That doesn’t mean I am reckless with my spending but it does mean that I do not need to spend six hours per day feeling stressed out as a recent study showed.

Moriah at her naming

Moriah is an extremely adventurous character and she loves roaming up and down the house satisfying her inquisitive mind. We have an open plan house and to prevent her from getting to the kitchen, I block her path with a stool and sofa. One day, to my shock horror she discovered her Spiderman abilities to climb over the sofa and find her way to the kitchen. I had to buy a gate to block her path to the kitchen which reminded me of some of the barriers God places in our lives for our protection. It can be very easy for her to think I am ruining her fun or not allowing her to explore as she would like but her level of maturity does not allow her to make such decisions by herself. Could God be preventing us from making progress in certain areas due to our lack of maturity? This has taught me that God may not necessarily tell you why He gives an instruction immediately – you may not even have the maturity to understand why which isn’t the end of the world. But have the confidence that He knows what is best and is looking out for you.

God bless and live in peace.

Seun