Our Father Who Art In Heaven...

October 11, 2009

In August of 2009, your father gave me a call, he spoke in circles for a bit, I could tell there was a sense of nervousness.  You see, the relationship your father and I have is weird, not really an older brother type and not really a best friend type, but more of a “yeah we’re really close and would give our own lives for each other but would never let the other person know that” type of relationship. 

He said he had a dilemma and wanted to ask me a question.  He wanted to know if I would be your Godfather.  My immediate thoughts were…       

• The title Godfather is filled with responsibilities beyond the simple side of making sure you grow up to be a good man.  There are religious and church implications.  For you, knowing how your parents are, you’re probably okay with that.  For me, I had probably been in a church a total of five times in my life, keep in mind I was 35 years old.  So I wasn’t worried about being there for you throughout your life but worried about my lack of knowledge.
• Your father made a big deal about the selection process to be your Godfather, he said how hard it was to choose between all the people in his life.  In all honesty, I’ve met all his friends and family and from me to you I don’t see how this was difficult.  I’m kidding, well not really, but kind’ve

So that’s the story on how I became your Godfather.  I’m sure your dad will tell you something different or more poignant, but someday you’ll wonder how and why it happened.

The big day comes and here I am nervous that I’ll be in a church, have all these responsibilities for that day and now embarking on something I’m completely unfamiliar with.  The day came and went, it was a magical and memorable, for me it became part of my life, you became part of my life.

There are times when things will happen in your life when you don’t expect or understand.  We are built and wired to question things and in some cases find the easy way out.  But in the end, most situations weren’t so bad or what we expected.  On the day of your Baptism, I had no idea what the future held.  I never had a Godfather and was never one to someone, they don’t make books or instructional videos on how to be a good Godfather.  You just try your best and hope that your best is good enough.  That holds true to anything you set your mind to and anything you end up doing.