A family meal where hearts are shared

                To celebrate my wife’s birthday today, in the morning, my wife and I had a meal just the two of us, and in the afternoon, after my wife finished work, the family gathered at a restaurant she chose for a hearty meal.  I’m grateful.  Especially, it was nice to watch my wife have various conversations with our son Dillon and his wife Jessica, including about his proposal to Jessica.  It was heartwarming to see Dillon chatting with her, smiling brightly.  Jessica, as expected, ate her favorite Korean food Bossam with great enthusiasm.  Haha.  Our youngest daughter Karis seemed to have only eaten ramen all day, but it was heartwarming to see her happily eating her favorite seasoned egg.  After the meal, my wife wanted to have tea or something for dessert, so we went to the café we often visit as a family.  There, though it wasn’t planned, I just opened my heart and shared my sincere feelings. And that sincerity was ...

1.       Your dad never had the chance to date and only experienced unrequited love until I met your mom and got married.  I knew so little about women, and because of that, I had many regrets for the times I treated your mom poorly.

2.       Also, after our first child, Charis, passed away, my wife and I longed for a baby so much.  When God gave us Dillon, we were so thankful, but I had no idea how to raise children and became a father without knowing much about parenting.

3.       So, as I raised the three of you children, there were so many things I did wrong.  I’m really sorry for that.

4.       Mom and dad don’t focus on what we have or haven’t done for you.  When we talk about you three, our focus is on how God is working in each of your lives.

5.       Mom and dad can’t help but be thankful to God.  The reason is that, even though we are imperfect parents, God loves you more than anyone and is personally raising you, and He has allowed us to catch a glimpse of that through faith.

I shared my sincere feelings like, and during the process, I asked my children if I was too strict when they were young, but they said I wasn’t. Haha.  Also, there were several times when I disciplined all three of them at once with a stick, and Dillon and Karis remember those moments.  What’s amazing, though, is that both of them said I disciplined them with love, not in anger.  But in reality, I feel like most of the time I disciplined them out of anger.  I’m not sure.  I apologized to my kids, thinking I had made many mistakes in raising them.  But I realized they perceive things differently.  It must be God’s grace.