Fatherhood is the best. Seriously. The best.
I love being the father of Ryland Von Weaver and Rance D Weaver.
Fathering (for me) is about raising and sending my children. This is the pain and the joy of fathering. My sons are not mine to keep. And while they are young, it is my responsibility to raise them well… which includes challenging their accepted worldview and encouraging them to test their perceived limits.
On our return journey from Haiti last month, I began looking over my journaling notes and preparing my thoughts to share the story with Remedy Church on the following Sunday morning. I wasn’t planning any huge talk, but the Elders at Remedy had asked Amanda and I to share for a few moments about the trip. I was simply narrowing the scope of what I wanted to share so I could allow Amanda to “freestyle” quite a bit since this was technically a MandaWeaver Photography trip.
As I was organizing my thoughts, Ryland interrupted with a bit of shocking news:: he wanted to share his story of our trip.
On the previous Sunday at Eglise Baptiste Compasion de Christ, Pastor St Cyr had asked our whole family to join him on stage so he could introduce us and say a few words. Before we exited the stage, Ryland asked for the microphone so he could read a few words to the gathered congregation that he had written.
Ryland had pressed into his perceived limits and had done amazingly well.
And now Ryland wanted to carry that same message to our local church in Salisbury.
Have I mentioned that I love fathering?
On Sunday, February 1st, Ryland stepped onto the stage at Remedy Church and shared his perspective on our first family journey together in Haiti. Amanda and Rance filmed, and I fired the slides for Ryland as he shared.
Ryland Von is quite the 8-year old storyteller.
Enjoy…
(You can also see Amanda’s photos from Junior & Dominique’s Wedding on her photography website…)