David Gerald Park - 37 years old

He's not my son. He's Jerry's first born. He is the son of Ann. If you know them you can see them in David. His compassion. His gentleness. His patience. If you know him you can see he has gone beyond them - to their great joy, I'm sure. David is the son of Jerry and Ann, but he is additionally David.

He's not my son. I didn't know him as a boy. He was a man when we met. I, the man who was to be his father-in-law, met David at the occasion of the death of the man who had been my father-in-law. I must confess that this is a thought that is not new to me. It has always made me aware of the influence men in such a relationship can have on each other. If the years we have together in such a relationship can allow as much good influence to flow from older-to-younger as did in the years I experienced as the younger, then I will be pleased. If the good that flowed from the younger-to-older was then as much as it has been with us, then I was a blessing to Brab.

He's not my son, but he's one with my daughter. I remember her first attempts to describe him to me. She told me he reminded her of me - as if that was supposed to win my favor. But he's more patient than I. He's more compassionate than I. He's more determined to demonstrate respect for those who may not have learned to respect themselves. It flatters me that she saw something like me in him. My guess is she just saw what she liked and she liked me, too. I told David I knew he was a wise man because wise men marry up and he married Shelley.

He's not my son, but he's the father of my grandsons. To a man with only daughters, that's an important thing. He is the one who will give the wound or give the blessing. He is the one who will answer the question they will have about their own manhood. And, from what I've seen he is up to the task. Though my grandsons are as different as (dare I say it) ebony and ivory, he is to them what a father should be. I am able to relax when I think of how this great task will be accomplished. It will be accomplished through God's spirit poured through His son, David.

He's not my son. You see that's the point. He is God's son and that makes it all good. Thirty-seven years are really only a few. But they have proven, for David, to be plenty for gaining the respect of his wife, his peers, his seniors and his sons. They have proven to be plenty for demonstrating the meaning of hope for a brighter future for those who see little hope. After all, isn't that what the sons of God do. He's not my son - thank God! He's God's son.