Reflections of a First-Time Father at Forty Years Old

At 10:03 a.m. Wednesday, October 10, 2007, my wife Kyndal and I welcomed our son, Noah Daniel Norton, into the world and into our family. Noah is my first child and Kyndal's second. I have never seen anything so beautiful. As I gazed at the perfection of God's handiwork in my hands, I found myself in complete and utter awe. I couldn't help but wonder What took me so long?

Actually, I have been asking myself that question for many months as my wife and I awaited the arrival of our son. Why did I wait until I was nearly forty years old to get married? And why did I wait until I was forty to have my first child? I had spent much of my twenties and thirties pursuing my own selfish desires. I had strayed away from my walk with my Savior to live as I wanted to, and to do things my own way.

During the summer of 2004, at the age of thirty-seven, I recommitted my life to Christ. Shortly afterward, I met my future wife online through a Christian site called Love and Seek.com. Within six months, we were married, and I became a stepfather to her son Nathan, who was nine years old at that time.

While we were trying to have a child, we often became discouraged when Kyndal would be late for a period and then have a pregnancy test come back negative. We kept trying to encourage each other that we would have our baby soon enough in God's time, and kept praying that His will, not ours, be done. Even after we received the news in February that she was pregnant, I think it was when we went in for the sonogram and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time that it all finally became real to us.

Becoming a husband and a stepfather were blessings enough, but becoming a father to a child of my own is the greatest moment of my life. And now I realize that God has had His hand in this all along, guiding not only me-but Kyndal, Nathan and Noah as well-toward this day. Of all the blessings I've received in my life, this is certainly the greatest. October 10, 2007 was, without a doubt, the greatest day of my life.

As I look at my new son, I look forward to many experiences ahead of us: family vacations; Christmas and other holidays; Royal Rangers, youth group and other church activities; taking him to his first day of school and helping him with his homework, among others. I look forward to seeing him graduate high school, go to college, pursue a career and, perhaps, get married and raise a family. And now I have another generation to pass my values and beliefs on to. That does my heart a lot of good, knowing that those values can survive through him, and then someday he can pass them on to his children.

As I write this, Noah is almost four weeks old, and since he has been here, I've had my initiation into fatherhood, being pooped, peed and puked on. And I've nearly had my eardrums perforated from him crying and screaming into my ears. But parenthood is worth all ,and much more. I simply cannot imagine my life without this little guy in it. Noah is God's special little gift to our family, and we will never cease to give thanks for him.