So my wife and I are expecting a baby boy any day now, so I don’t have long to write before we may need to head off to the hospital. Today is Junior’s official due date; our doctor explained that for a first-time pregnancy, it’s typical to be about four days over the due date. Yet still, Christie is experiencing contractions. They’re getting more frequent. More intense. Like I said, I don’t have long. So I’ll be brief.

I just wanted to say that I am thankful for my wife and our new baby, for friends and family—for all the good things God provides. In those times when all seems lost (and I’ve experienced a few), I’m comforted by a God who does not give up on me, or on anyone I encounter during the day. I am fascinated that even the most distant strangers whom I pass on the street are, hopefully, the dearest friends I’ll share adventures with in heaven—persons who have had their ups and downs and who have not given up.

If I had given up, I would never be married to Christie, never experienced the joy of getting to know her, of courtship and that beautiful day we married; or now, with our baby boy on the way. What will he look like? What will he be passionate in? I can’t wait.

This little blog is for all the people out there who are tempted to quit—on their jobs, on others, on themselves, on God—to say that God loves you. He loves you dearly. He will not quit on you. That, in my opinion, is where the joy in life begins.

If nothing else, I hope I get to teach my son how to keep going, and keep fighting, no matter how dire the odds, so that one day he may experience the joy of a similar reflection, awaiting his child to come.