Crazy About your Children

By Nick Daniels

I once read that besides their basic needs, children need at least
one person who's crazy about them. That thought hit me right between the eyes. Was I crazy about my children?

I love my two boys with all my heart, really, but sometimes I would like to ship them to Siberia (especially when I’m trying to write and they jump over my laptop--oh, here they come!).

In Bringing Up Boys, Dr. James Dobson tells it how it is: "There is 
something especially challenging about boys. Although individual temperaments vary, boys are designed to be more assertive, audacious, 
and excitable than girls are." Besides these characteristics, my kids can be disorganized, forgetful, and extremely loud.
I may hope things will improve as they grow up, but as far as I remember, I was "more lovable" as a kid, than as a teenager.

So I started looking for ways to 
feel crazy about my sons.

A brainstorming session brought up all kinds of ideas:

Try to think of them as cuddly babies; repeat the mantra phrase "I am crazy about them" 876 times every day;
pray and fast for a "supernatural fatherly craziness;"
look for examples in other father-son relationships.

This last idea had the most potential. However, none of my friends
had kids of my sons’ ages. Moreover, my dad was not crazy about me, so I 
lacked a good model.

What about my heavenly Father? I began reading 
my Bible for clues on how God is crazy about his children.
Two things struck me out. First, God made the decision to sacrifice Himself for us so we would become his children (1 John 3: 9, 10). 
Second, he delights himself in having an intimate relationship with 
us—the Bible says that God rejoices over us! (Isaiah 62:5).



My problem was that I had it all wrong in my mind. I thought I was 
sacrificing a lot of things for my children (like investing money in 
them instead of a sports car). The truth is that I was not giving 
them my time and attention. Parents like to think they don't have a favorite child. We may say 
that we love them all the same, but our actions send the opposite 
message.

When I started sacrificing my time to just be their dad, things changed.

It’s the same for the God who is crazy about us. He could not enjoy a close relationship with humanity because of sin. But Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, earning us the right to 
approach the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).



I now enjoy my two boys as often as I can. Yes, they are still loud and disorganized. But they are fun and brilliant. You know, I feel like hanging out with them right now. 
I'd better go check what they’re up to.

Nick Daniels is a writer who works from home, so he can spend more time with his family. If the kids are at school, Nick might be found at Starbucks drinking a Frapuccino. Visit his site at www.nickdanielsbooks.com