In this interview, Andrew shares both the deep joys and everyday struggles of fathering two young girls. He shares his desire to be fully present for his girls, while grieving not being able to do so as the provider for his family. He opens up about how fatherhood has acted as a “mirror” to his selfishness, impatience, and longings for spontaneity and freedom, and how God has used these moments to grow and strengthen his faith. Finally, he shares the value of raising his girls in a church community—something he learned being exposed to Christianity and a church family early in life.
- Please introduce yourself!
Hi, my name is Andrew L’Estrelle, I’m 32, married to my beautiful wife Addie and together we have two girls – Emily who is 5 and Ellanor who is almost 2. We’re members at Providence Church Brisbane, having started as part of the launch team when the church was planted in 2015.
During the week I work for the Queensland Government and hobbies these days mostly revolve around the kids or various building and improvement projects around the house. I like gardening, making/building things, and pursuing simple creative outlets like cooking. When I get the time, I really enjoy going out to the country where I grew up, spending time in nature, and enjoying the tranquility of standing on a remote hill with no civilisation in sight.
2. What has been the greatest joy and challenge of being a Girl Dad so far?
The greatest joy I have found in parenting has been watching my girls grow and learn. Their sense of adventure and eagerness to explore the world, asking questions about how things work and why. Watching them achieve things they couldn’t do yesterday whether it be helping Emily learn to read or seeing the joy on Ella’s face when she finally masters jumping with both feet at the same time.
Growing into this role of ‘Dad’ has also been incredibly challenging, realising how selfish I am with my own time and desiring a level of spontaneity, freedom and independence that isn’t compatible with giving yourself up to be available and present for your kids. Working full-time and having to spend a significant portion of my week away from the kids has also been, and continues to be, a challenge for me. Switching off from work and trying to be as present as possible at the end of a long day is difficult, but as Ella runs toward me, with arms in the air screaming “DADDDAA” work quickly fades away. It’s in the little chats as I put them to bed and we try and catch up on the day that I find little moments of joy, for example, as Emily asks to pray together, and we read her bible together each night.
Growing into this role of ‘Dad’ has also been incredibly challenging, realising how selfish I am with my own time and desiring a level of spontaneity, freedom and independence that isn’t compatible with giving yourself up to be available and present for your kids.
3. You grew up in a Christian household and attending church and have remained in the faith into adulthood. How has your early exposure to Christianity shaped the way you parent your girls today?
I grew up in a Christian home and had the benefit of learning from and observing several solid, mature Christians as I grew up. I’m very grateful for the early exposure I had to Christianity, being in an environment where I was taught the bible and seeing Sunday church be prioritised and valued. This all provided a solid base for me to develop my knowledge of God and develop my own faith.
I have seen lots of men who are dedicated to their church and their families, and one common observation I have is that they were all present and committed, with church and family being clear priorities in their life. This has helped me tackle my own big decisions in life like where to buy a house and live, where to work, the type of lifestyle we seek and seeking to have church and community as a central priority of our week, seeking opportunity’s to open our home and serve people to model to our girls that our faith and our church family are central priorities that guide our decision making, not an afterthought that we fit into our otherwise secular lives.
Growing up in a Christian home has taught me the importance of providing an environment and space for my girls to learn and encounter authentic gospel community to allow them to develop their own faith in time. In 2021, I took 18 months long-term leave from work, and we sold our house and packed up all our things to build our own tiny home on wheels and travel the country together.
We loved our time away but returned to Brisbane to provide our girls a gospel-based church to grow up in—something I believe is so important in supporting my kids as they explore the gospel for themselves at a young age. We love our church community and I’m enjoying this phase of parenting particularly as our eldest Emily has started asking more questions about the bible and faith.
Growing up in a Christian home has taught me the importance of providing an environment and space for my girls to learn and encounter authentic gospel community to allow them to develop their own faith in time.
4. How does knowing God, the perfect Father, shape the way you parent your girls? How has God used fatherhood to grow and sanctify you?
The majority of the challenges I have faced in parenthood stem from my own selfishness and lack of patience, however I am coming to see joy in the mirror that parenthood holds up to our own lives as it presents opportunities for me to grow and mature in my own walk with God.
When faced with a child who ignores my first, second and 58th reasonable request to put their socks on (insert daily struggle here), rather than being discouraged and frustrated I am reminded to stop and act out of love and patience as I hear God calling out to me with grace and love, patiently waiting for me to respond to his reasonable request to love and follow him.
I have by no means mastered this yet, and God continues to work in my heart to grow me and to shape me as his son and as a father. I am thankful for the kids he has blessed me with, and the privilege it is to raise these two girls, and I pray that I can point them toward God’s grace and love through my parenting as they grow up and we face new and unchartered challenges together.
