growing | Craig T. Owens

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Happy Birthday To My Son

December 8, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Dear Harrison,

It’s hard for me to believe that you are a decade-and-a-half old. Wow, time seems to fly by, but the memories I’ve made watching you grow up are always with me. What an incredible young man you are!

Believe it or not, you have been a huge factor in my own growth and maturity. I can remember the moment you were born how I cried with an absolutely unspeakable joy! I had never known such an immediate explosion of love before. Falling in love with your Mom was a love that grew little by little—and still is growing today. But the love that burst upon me the moment you were born was a Niagara Falls of love all at one instant. As I held you in the first couple of days, it dawned on me in such a new way, “This is how my Heavenly Father must feel about me.”

That’s the day that my relationship with God went to an entirely different level. Partly contributing to this was the responsibility of being your Dad, and knowing how I had to be a better man to train you up in the way you should go. But part of my motivation to get closer to God was that you taught me what kind of love God had for me. I didn’t want to fail you or Him, so I made a conscious decision to rededicate myself to getting even closer to God. And in the process, I got even closer to you, to your Mom, and to everyone else I loved.

And that passion to keep growing hasn’t stopped. You still motivate me today to get better and better as a follower of Jesus and as your Dad. The more I see you mature, the prouder I become of you, and the more I feel the need to push through to the next level. I want to keep on growing so that I can always be there for you.

I love you, Harrison. Thank you for challenging me to be a better Dad and a more passionate follower of Christ.

Happy Birthday,

Dad

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: birthday, example, family, growing, learning, parenting, relationships. 3 Comments »

Limbo

April 8, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

According to the dictionary, limbo has some unusual definitions:

a region on the border of hell or heaven;
an intermediate, transitional, or midway state or place;
a place or state of imprisonment or confinement.

Have you ever felt you were in limbo? I have, and it does sometimes feel like a place of imprisonment. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I’ve been wondering why I should ever be in limbo. And I have come to the conclusion that it’s because I’m in such a hurry to arrive someplace.

We get so anxious to get somewhere—anywhere—and while we are between two points we feel the transitional state very acutely, and it often feels like a prison.

But I think God is more interested in our development process than He is in our destination. There is Bible verse quoted often when people are in limbo: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…” (Romans 8:28). But the verb tense here is not a destination verb but a process verb. It’s better stated, “And we know that in all things God is working for the good of those who love Him.”

Look at the differences—

“I really thought I was supposed to get that job” [destination focus] versus “Here’s what God taught me while I was pursuing that job” [process focus].
“What am I supposed to do next, God?” [destination focus] versus “What are you teaching me while I wait on You?” [process focus]
“Why did it turn out this way?” [destination focus] versus “Here’s how I am growing through this time” [process focus]

Limbo isn’t fun (or as one of my friends said on Facebook this morning, “A life in limbo sucks!”). But it is in the limbo times—the times of process—that we learn the most about all of the good that God is working in us and through us.

If you feel like you’re in limbo today, take your eyes off a destination, and look at the process. Believe me, this is a lesson I am learning right now—big time! What limbo lessons have you learned—or should I say, what limbo lessons are you learning right now?