"God, watch over me.  The sea is so big, and my boat is so small."
                                 -prayer of an unknown fisherman


The photo you see to the left is a great photograph.  It shows my family walking on a path together.  I am on the left with Faith on my shoulders.  Justin is at my side, and Libby holding onto him.  On the other side of the bridge is my wife Betty Ann.  This photo is an incomplete portrayal of our family.  It was taken before the birth of our newest addition, a bright-eyed boy named Patrick.  Also not pictured was our daughter Catherine, who died at birth.  While we did not get to see her grow, her presence in our lives was a blessing in disguise which has made a huge difference in our development as Christians.

This photograph certainly can be seen as a symbol of the journey that we are traveling together.  The journey of life can lead us to choose our damnation, or it could lead us to eternal salvation.  The choices we make as parents affect the way our children make their choices.  The little ones also impact the way my wife and I make choices about our lives. 

Think of it like a journey on a ship.  We may occaisionally steer the ship off course, choosing sin instead of the will of God.  Thankfully, through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary, and the divine mercy which we cannot understand, we have plenty of opportunities to correct our course.  Each of these course corrections are moments of conversion - that is, the turning away from sin and the return to the course set for us by God.  Sometimes those corrections are slight - a 5 or 10 degree turn from course.  Sometimes it requires a full 180 degree turn to get back on track.

Thanks be to God who led me to know the lovely person who eventually became my wife.  All praise and thanksgiving to Him who blessed us with wonderful children, each a blessing in their own individual way.  Each of us is an important member of our crew on the journey of life.  One day, my son may be the compass that tells us we are not heading due north.  Another day, it might be my daughter noticing that the path in the stars is not right.  My wife will often be my rudder, keeping me out of troubled waters.  Sometimes, it is my job to be the captain, the man who has to stand up for my crew and protect them from danger, whether it be from inside our outside our vessel.