Hana Yasmeen Ali is a delightful, energetic, and enthusiastic writer who exudes a more beautiful version of her daddy’s famous smile. I asked her what it was like to grow up as the daughter of the most recognized man in the world.

“I think I was about three years old when I figured out daddy was someone special,” she said. “I saw how people would react whenever he was in the room. But what I remember most is how special he made me feel. No matter how busy he was, and no matter who was in the room, we (his children) were the most important to him. He never put us off. I remember that he went out of his way to bring me lunch at school every day that he was in town. I knew I was loved.”

As she described the virtues of her father with undying devotion, love, and respect, I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through my own daughter’s mind who was sitting next to me.

What Muhammad Ali gave his daughter was an incredible gift of his time, his attention, his affection, and his consistency. It so happens that Hana has embraced her father’s faith and the teachings and has co-authored The Soul of a Butterfly with him. It occurs to me that there must be a relationship between his gift and her response.

There are no more precious gifts we can give our children than our time, our attention, our affections, our consistency, and our faith. By embracing God's character, we become partners with Him in caring for our children. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of light. He is constant, unchanging, never eclipsed" (see James 1:17).

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Herald editor.