Lessons on Love & In-Laws From Daddy

Daddy

The day my maternal grandmother died opened my eyes to the greatness of my Dad. It happened on a Saturday and I received the news while at work. Just a week before, my Parents celebrated their 4th and final wedding for their children, so whereas my dad would have been right there by my Grandma's side at our home in our native town Ondo; instead he was by my mother's side, his First Love.

If my mother was his First Love then the late Madame Esther OmoKehinde Fasehun was his second. My mother effortlessly stole my Dad's heart when she was just 12 years old. My grandfather chased my father away and as my dad honored his wishes and kept his distance over the years, my grandma kept a special place in her heart for him. Needless to say when my parents would divinely reunite, my Grandma stood as his advocate & supporter.

Through thick & thin, my parents have endured over 40 years of marriage, and very very early on my Dad discovered the secret to my mother's heart: in fact, my grandmother was the embodiment of her physical heart. So my father claimed Mama selfishly as his own and for over 20 years he has spent countless hours physically & tangibly overseeing her care right there in Ondo Town. They call him "Mama's First Born" and many were baffled at the fact that he was not from her loins. His care for her was meticulous all the way to the very end.

At the wake.

On the day Mama departed, the praises began to ring forth as I too saw my Dad in a new light. Whereas he would have undoubtedly been there by Mama's side to watch her pass on into Eternity, God rather ensured that he was at his rightful place beside my mother during the most devastating moment of her life. Life isn't perfect and being continents away is not always ideal in marriage, but my Dad has been the glue of our family, personally connecting us with our own In-Laws while Mama & her spiritual team prayed on. Daddy continues to pray too in his secret place, lifting 200 "Thank You Jesus's" on his Rosary every morning and every night in gratitude to Our God. Wow! God blesses the Grateful Heart--what a shining example!!

Celebrating Life with Mama's Children & Their Other Halves!

Not only has Daddy demonstrated how we should love our new families, but he continues to connect and unite us with them locally. It is because of my Dad that I have experienced the Amazing Grace and the Agape Love of God from my own new family. You see, in cultures such as ours in Nigeria, West Africa, the marriage relationship is a strategic relationship that must be both treasured and preserved. I have personally discovered that the Love of an In-Law has the Potential to Transform. It is an extension of your spouse that can keep on loving, doing & giving! You are not an island in marriage but rather a web of connectivity that can be very, very powerful. If an In-Law accepts & treasures you despite your wrongs, then you can literally experience the love & forgiveness of your spouse over & over & over again, whether near or far! I am a living witness. I have never experienced that type of exponential love ever in my whole life. It has changed my life forever.

With my Parents, SURROUNDED BY My Husband to our left and to our right...

Daddy you have shown the deepest love for your wife by embracing her heart and honoring her parents in both life and in death. 

You have done well. 

You are the man in the back scenes holding us together! 

Daddy, it goes without saying that you are that Husband & Father of Virtue from Proverbs the 31st Chapter! 

May you continue to enjoy the fruit of your labor and may us your children follow your powerful example regarding all of our new families. 

May the honor you have rendered be returned to you 100-fold in Jesus' Name.

Shining...

With Love, deepest Honor and Gratitude.
Your youngest,
-Taiwo.
6/19/2016 Father's Day 2016
Lyrics by tia