My First Father's Day

On June 21st of this year I celebrated my first Father’s Day. It was not the way I expected to spend my first Father's Day, but it was my first nonetheless. If you don’t know, Kathryn's and my first child, Lucas, was stillborn in December of last year. This was obviously a difficult time for us, and has only gotten harder as the days pass. Life is different when part of your family is absent. I read a quote that summed it up like this, “If your parent dies, you lose a part of your past, but if your child dies, you lose part of your future.”

Though my first Father’s Day was a day of sorrow, it was also a day of great joy. For one, I was so proud to be the father of Lucas Brooks Mouchette and the proud husband of his mother. Another reason it was a day of joy is because I found out that, on my very first Father’s Day, I was actually a father of two! Yeah, I know, how gracious is God to bless me with news like that on a day that had been so mixed with emotions? I will never forget it. I had just arrived at a family gathering at Kathryn’s grandparents' house when Kathryn pulled me outside, sat me down, and pulled a pregnancy test out of her tiny clutch. With excitement and fear in her eyes she gave me the news of our second child. What a great Father’s Day!

Today at fifteen weeks, we are still excited and scared. Pregnancy is so difficult after loss, so please pray for my wife and my baby. Pray for the protection of our child and pray that Kathryn would be protected from all the sicknesses that are going around. (Keep in mind that she works in an elementary school.) Thank you for your prayers.