As a new parent, I was constantly observing Hannah and Jonathan for their first step moments.

The first photograph I had of Hannah walking was in a park. There was a piece of leaf in her path and she looked like she was approaching a big hurdle.

The first time Jonathan wore a tie, he wore it on his neck, instead of on his shirt collar.

Last Monday, Jonathan made his first prayer. It was not the routine ‘Say Grace’ prayer which he usually rushes through.

On Monday, as I was putting both of Hannah and Jonathan to sleep, all of us heard a strange sound that sounded like a chirp. “What’s that sound ?” Hannah asked with alarm in her voice and sought reassurance.

As I was trying to figure out what the sound could be, Jonathan, with eyes closed, uttered his first prayer, “Father in heaven, please don’t let any bird get inside the house. Please don’t let any animal get inside the house. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

I was bemused with his innocent prayer and made a mental note of his first prayer.

Our Father too watches us with bemusement and anticipation as we take our first steps in the different areas of our life and faith.

On occasion, I like to carry a camera and take photographs of my children for keepsake.

Over the years I have accumulated a big collection of pictures.

In this collection, there are some that I like more than the rest.

There was a picture I took of Hannah and Jonathan walking in the park. I like it because I like to see Hannah getting along with Jonathan and walking as sister and brother. I like this picture so much I printed and put it on a wall in my house.

There was another picture I took of Hannah walking with her friend walking in the church playground. They were walking as good friends, deep in a conversation and she had her hand on Hannah’s arm. This picture warms my heart because someone was taking care of Hannah.

The next time we get to spend time with our brother or sister, the next time we get to take care of a friend, we might get an opportunity to be remembered on a wall in our Father’s house too.

When Hannah was born, one of the first things we did was to count the fingers and toes.  One of her ten toes, was crooked. This caused us some concern, until one day I checked and found that I too had the same crooked toe.

Jonathan does not have a crooked toe. He, on the other hand, is crazy about Angry Birds. In the time that we allow him to play the game, he finished all the levels. Besides the game, he also loves the Angry Birds notebook, Angry Birds plastic file etc.
This is his latest interest. In general, he is very interested in all things computers – Blackberry, iPhone, computers,  GPS – … a little like his father

When I see these little bits of myself in Hannah and Jonathan, I smile fondly.

When our Father sees a little of Himself in us, He too smiles and grows a little more fond of us.

We recently celebrated Hannah’s birthday. The pleasant surprise this birthday was two of her friends gave her birthday presents a few days before her birthday.

I took an interest in the givers. The first to give her the presents was a girl who took note of her birthday last year and this year happened to sit next to her. She has a very good command of the Chinese language and scored high marks in Chinese and Moral.

The second girl was a prefect who used to go on duty with her last year. She remembered her birthday because hers was a few days earlier.

Because the gifts were unexpected, I took a special interest in these two friends.

Long after they have given and forgotten the gifts, a father will still remember the givers.

Both Hannah and Jonathan are growing up. Part of that means I send both off to school in the mornings. After I send them off, I like to walk past their classrooms to look for them. If I find them, I like to pause and observe what they do. Sometimes on a good morning, Hannah would be standing at the window, watching for me to pass her window. When we see each other, we smile and wave at each other.

Sometimes I pass her window too early and she is not at the window. But if she goes to the window and sees me just a little distance away, she calls, ‘Daddy’ to get my attention. Then we smile at each other.

I cherish these morning encounters. A father cherishes memories of his children calling him ‘Daddy’.

I love to say Yes to Hannah and Jonathan … except when I have to say No.

When they ask me for something, I love to be able to say Yes, because I love them and do want to give them the best I can. But when I think about what they are asking for and if it is not good for them, I have to say No.

As they get to know me, they know which kind of requests gets a Yes and which gets a No.

Sometimes, they try to debate a No to a Yes.

Sometimes, they are surprised that what they thought would be a No gets a Yes.

As I get to know them better from the time we spend together, I know and can anticipate their requests. I try to teach them how to get more Yeses and I try to teach them why the Nos are no good for them. As they start to understand and appreciate why the Yeses are better, both of us are happy together. They love to get a Yes and I love to give good gifts.

As Jonathan comes of age, he is beginning to ask for things. Amongst them are toys that let him exterminate villains with gory weapons, things that he finds in the Toys’ R Us catalogue or things he sees on TV. When he pleads for them, he genuinely feels that they would bring him happiness.

As Jonathan comes of age, I have to say No to his requests for things. I say No, because as his father, and as somebody who has been a boy his age before, I know that such things are not important for his happiness.

Sometimes when he requests for legitimate things, I also say, Not Yet. Not yet, because I also want him to learn the value of working for something. So I tell him that if he works for it, he will get it.

As Jonathan comes of age, he is learning that Daddy sometimes will say No and Not Yet. He is also learning that Daddy loves him no less.

A few weeks ago, Hannah wrote an essay about me. In the essay she wrote of her appreciation of me. Of the many things she wrote, there was one particular incident that struck me more than the rest. She mentioned something that I did more than 9 years ago, before she was born.

She mentioned that I sang to her when she was in Mummy’s womb. She probably does not remember the songs but she heard the stories that I sang to her when we tell her that she is special to us. She loves the story and she remembers this story fondly when she writes about me.

Our Father too has a similar story for us.

⁴ The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, ..

Jeremiah 1:4-5

Jonathan is just beginning to learn to ride on the swing and so he cannot, on his own, ride very high.

So, when he wants to ride the swings in the playground, he pulls me along to push him.

Before I agree to push him high, I always tell him that he must do exactly as I tell him and that is to hold on tight and do not let go at all. I give him a few test pushes to test whether he will do exactly as told.

If he does not, I would not push him any higher because it would be dangerous for him. If he does follow my instructions, I will gradually push him higher until he squeals with delight.

If we want a helping push to reach greater heights from our Father, we must discern our Father’s will and hold on tightly to what He tells us to cling to. If we do not, we could fall pretty badly.