Friday, May 19, 2006


Anna at Easter Posted by Picasa

Comfort

So yesterday was one of the greatest days ever! It was a Thursday, which meant the day was already full of promise because Thursday is my one full day off in the week… 24 hours with just my wife and daughters. I slept in like crazy, slammed some delicious homemade banana bread for breakfast and ran errands with the girls. After lunch everyone had a nap and then for dinner we went to our favorite restaurant, The Stir Fry CafĂ© on someone else’s nickel (praise the Lord for gift cards). After dinner we got Anna some strawberry ice cream and took her to look at a fountain, which she thinks is more fun than just about anything. It was such a great night… the food was great, and the girls were perfect angels at the restaurant… we are so blessed!

Well, on the way home we were listening to this awesome John Williams CD of film score highlights that Patrick and Patty gave me for my birthday, and the piece, “Dry Your Tears, Afrika” from the movie Amistad was playing. When the song first came on, Christy and I were instantly transported by that melody back into that unbelievably poignant true story. Anna asked Christy if she was sad, to which Chris said, “Some very bad things happened to a lot of people in Africa and it makes me sad.” Then I told Anna that all those bad things were the reason Jesus came, and that one day He would come again to make everything right in the end. Well, as we kept driving, that song kept crawling deeper and deeper inside me and breaking my heart over the wickedness and evil of slavery… I could just see Djimon Hounsou’s character standing in that courtroom with shackled hands screaming, “Give us Free!”

Before the song ended, I had tears of my own to dry… that’s when the coolest thing happened. My little two and a half year-old asked me from her car seat, “Dad, are you sad? Are you crying?” And I said, “Yeah babe, I am.” Then my little girl said, “Its okay, Dad. Jesus is coming back.” Whoa… I can’t describe what that moment did for me. This little keyboard doesn’t have the keys… to be comforted by your child, to have your faith strengthened by the words coming from that little heart… it was awesome. Later that night before we drifted off into sleep, closing our eyes on the most awesome of days, I thanked God for comforting me with my own words… for letting me hear the simplest and deepest truth in the sweet timbre of my toddler.

1 comment:

Cody Blair said...

wow Lee, that's an amazing story. your family and your faith are such an encouragement/example to me...I want you to know that. and thank you and your family for loving Emily so well, for truly caring for and sharpening her. I can't tell you how much that means to me.

heard the retreat was great. blessings bro

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