Today is Esther’s birthday.  She is now a 6 year old young lady.  Esther is my middle child and is “famous” for her long red hair.

In the days leading up to her birthday I have been asking myself, “What can I give Esther?”  She loves anything from the ‘Frozen’ movie, but frankly I’m just ready to ‘let it go.’  To be honest, I don’t know what to give her for her birthday.  Finally, It dawned on me that there are some fabulous gifts that I can give her.  These gifts cannot be bought at Walmart.  They cannot be ordered from Amazon.  They cannot be built with my hands.  But – they are priceless.  So, let me share them with you today.

Four ‘priceless’ gifts for Esther on her birthday

1. Faithfulness.  The gift of faithfulness is becoming very rare.  One gift I have for Esther is that I will be faithful to her mother.  More and more children are having the gift of a faithful father ripped from their hands.  Being a dad who is faithful to his children and to their mother is one of the best gifts I can give.  I will also be faithful to God.  Giving up on God is becoming a popular idea.  When life gets tough, I will remain faithful to God.  I know what a gift it is to have a faithful father.  I will give this gift to Esther.
2. Truth.  I will tell Esther the truth.  I will not sugarcoat it.  I will not tell her half-truths and I will not lie to her.  I will tell her that life is hard and people are sometimes mean.  But, I will also tell her that I will be there for her when life is hard.  When people are mean, I will remind her that daddy still loves her.  I am convinced that too many fathers are dishonest with their children.  They do not tell their children the truth.  Rather, they say what they think their children want to hear.  I will give Esther the gift of honesty and truth.
3. Humility.  Esther sees sides of me that no one else sees.  She sees me when I am angry.  She sees me loose my temper.   The gift of humility means that when I mess up, I will admit that I have made a mistake.  I will apologize to her and ask for her forgiveness.  I will not make excuses.  I will not just ‘expect her to understand.’  A humble forgiveness-seeking father is a priceless gift to any child.
4. Time.  Esther is a middle child.  This is not easy for her. One gift I need to give her is my time.  I need to sit and listen to her talk.  One of my favorite traditions is taking each of my daughters out for a lunch date around their birthday.  I am always amazed at how much Esther can talk!  She needs my time.  She needs to talk to me and she needs to hear me talk to her.  Every minute that I choose to spend with her communicates to her that I love and appreciate her.  Those minutes are a priceless gift.

I am sure that I will also give her at least one un-priceless gift for her birthday.  She might play with it for a while before it breaks and we throw it away.  However, these four gifts I have listed above will stay with her forever.  They will not break.  She will not outgrow them.  They will not go out of style.  They will not be forgotten.

Dads – What about you?

What will you give your children for their birthday?  Will you get them the coolest new toy?  May I encourage you to set your sights a little higher.  Give your children the gifts that only you can give them.  I cannot give your child the gift of a faithful father.  Only you can do that.   Invest in priceless birthday presents.

Happy Friday and Happy Birthday Esther!

Stephen

PS – These would also make great Christmas presents as well…