A few months ago, I was in the thick of a project at work that felt all consuming and hugely consequential. It was 5pm and the spare bedroom that doubles as my office was feeling stuffy, but I wanted to keep working, and I felt like I needed to. My wife’s text message encouraged me to call it a day so I shut things down and headed outside to find her and the kids. As soon as I opened the front door, all of the stuffiness of my office, and the lingering thoughts of work items racing through my head exited as the beautiful fall air filled my senses. I could hear the joyful sounds of happy voices and I knew that my bride and my boys had congregated with our sweet friends and neighborhood families at the intersection between our homes. As I headed their direction I got to observe my 3 year old son playing tag with his best friend and my 18 month old tenaciously attempting to ride his balance bike. As I got closer, the boys saw me out of their periphery and instantly there was a choir of voices singing “Daaaddddyyyyy Daddy!!! Mr. LIAM!!!!!” Their voices increased in frequency as they sprinted towards me and I crouched down preparing to be tackled by my two little ones and their group of friends close behind them. There is an indescribable beauty and sweetness to this embrace and to get to experience this with my wife and close neighbors makes it all the more special. Suddenly those important work items don’t weigh as much on my shoulders and I feel spoiled by the rich beauty of my life and family.

Praise God!