by brettmerritt (bio)
A few weeks ago during the closing hymn of Sacrament Meeting, I was ambushed.
As the chorister approached the stand and I reached for the gently-used and familiar green hymnal, my seven year-old daughter snuggled closer to me and took a corner of the book in her small hand. This had never happened before. Not thinking much about it, I looked down at her and then at the text and, as the intro began, prepared my pointer finger to guide her through the tricky beats, syllables and phrasing.
Within 30 seconds, I had tears streaming down my face, choking back a rush of emotion that made it impossible to produce any sound from my mouth.
Now, understand that she and I sing a lot at home. We make up songs, sing show-tunes, and hum pop hits pretty often. I know she has a musical side. But, as a new reader, she is usually content to sit and color or set her head on a lap and wait out most songs in church meetings.
It all took me by surprise and it was one of the most spiritual and rewarding moments I've had as a parent next to being sealed together or baptizing our son. My wife witnessed the whole thing, although as it was happening I didn't know she was watching. I wiped the tears with my tie and gave my little girl a kiss on her blonde curls and sent her off to Primary.
It's moments like these that make being a dad the best job I've ever had, even if I'm under-qualified. What moments as a parent have caused you to get side-swiped by emotion?
