Tyler Perry Welcomes Son; 'When You Kiss That Innocent Face of Your Child, You Kiss the Face of God,' Star Says
Tyler Perry is a first-time father after welcoming his son, Aman Tyler Perry, on Sunday, with girlfriend Gelila Bekele.
"The greatest gift I'm being given right now is the opportunity to give the little boy in me everything I ever had, so that's what I'm excited about," Perry told Extra in September. "This beautiful human being that God has allowed to come into my life for me to get to know, because they come with their own personalities … to shepherd and usher him."
Perry, an icon who has often spoken about the importance of faith and God in his life, drew more attention when he announced that he was expecting a child with his girlfriend. But he has been ecstatic about having a son and having the opportunity to participate in his child's life. And Perry, who had a troubled upbringing, only wants the best for his son.
"It is extremely important," he told Beliefnet of his faith. "I am a Christian, I am a believer, and I know had I not been a person of faith, I couldn't be here in this place. I wouldn't be walking the path that I'm on now. And I think the greater good of the path I'm on now is to teach people to learn to forgive and move on, in a way that's done through the healing power of humor."
In an emotional essay posted to his website in 2011, Perry spoke of the importance of parenting and the sacred relationship between parents and their children.
"I never had those kind of experiences, never knew that kind of unconditional joy, never knew what it felt like to be wanted and adored as a child. It's for every parent," he wrote of the challenge posed in his essay, "the good and the bad. DO YOU KNOW who is in your house? DO YOU KNOW whom you're raising, and will the child that you delivered, have to deliver you in your old age? Think about it and know that when you kiss that innocent face of your child, you kiss the face of God."
