I'm so proud of you, Love Dad

I spent almost 20 years without Christ. I had a good basic religious background, ie.we went to church on Sundays, but I truly started following Jesus the middle of my college years. Tim, when you were born, one of my prayers was that you would not have years of building up non-Christian patterns in your life, but would become a Christian at a young age. Little did I know how that prayer would be answered. At five talking with your mother you said you wanted to ask Jesus into your life. I thought you had to be a bit older than that, but not so. Several months later when Grandma Keating came to visit, the first thing you said to her was, “I’ve become a Christian.” And you had.

Another prayer I had for you was that as the years went by you would be farther along in your walk with Christ than I was. Being the spiritual giant that I am, I knew that was quite a prayer to pray. But God has answered that prayer too. Several years ago I realized an interesting fact. Every time I visit you I come away having learned something. God has taught you much. I love to see your lack of materialism, your love for your work, your trust in God, your relationship with Annette and care for others.

Here is something less profound, but still the work of God. I expected you to grow up to be taller than I…vitamins and good nutrition etc. By 8th grade you were 6-7 inches taller than I was when I was in 8th grade. Wow…how tall would you be? But you almost stopped growing. I wondered if you were disappointed, but now I look at where God has sent you and Annette to minister. How wise He was not to let you grow to 6 feet 4 inches (4 inches taller than I, which is how much taller I am than my dad). How much better you can minister to Mexicans. How much more comfortable they probably feel with you. God does all things well. But still if you hadn’t held your breath that day in our bathroom, you might have grown to 6 feet 4.

Love

Dad