CONTACT
As I age, I can better understand my dad – why he did not
want to throw a ball anymore, walk around at the city-fest, … You see, his
joints ached. More importantly, I can
appreciate the sense of isolation he must have felt while sitting at many a
family gathering, just smiling and staring at the floor, alone in his own
little world. Years in a mill, pre-PPE,
had robbed his hearing. But, he wore a
peaceful smile, as if listening to a friend talk of good times, before and
ahead.
Last week I sat on a
pick-up tailgate with a friend, after helping him move some roofing
materials. I asked about his preaching
son, and the conversation quickly and deeply dove into the depths of
doubt. Like my dad, he could hear the
din of noise, but could not discern the truth.
Although his son was a preacher, he is not a church going man. But, he is listening. “Which religion…?” “Mistakes in the Bible …?” “… opinions of men…?” “…which books belong in the Bible…?” He was looking for truth and purpose. He admitted regret over a profligate life,
salvaged by a good woman. We talked of
Moses (Heb.11) choosing suffering over sin.
But, he had dulled his hearing and lying voices of regret and defeat
were screaming at him. The noise made
the voice of truth indiscernible?
Like Helen Keller, we need a “miracle worker”, we need an
Anne Sullivan to open up our vistas and horizons, to open our blind eyes to the
world we cannot see. We thrash about in
our personal darkness – frustrated, fearful, falling. Keller could not read the news, listen to
music, see where she was going. But,
Sullivan opened up her world, helping her make contact with what she could not
see nor hear.
Thinking on these things while driving to work at 6:30 in the
morning, I came around a pine tree lined curve, and a bright, orange orb on the
horizon nearly blinded my sleepy eyes.
But, I heard a voice say, “good morning!
I’m still here!”
I read to my dad on his death bed of the resurrection, of
salvation, of heaven. But, I am not sure
he was listening to me. Maybe he could already
hear the angels singing?!
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