It was just a dream but so vivid…
“When I close my eyes, though wide awake, attempting to focus, in this airborne metal tube, on the absence of sight and sound, a kaleidoscope of black and grey diamond shapes swirl for a time and then coalesce.
At first it seems the violent spinning of dark cream in black coffee then slows to the faintly cloudy lifting of soil at the edge of a dark pool of water in its gentle ebb and flow.
This time, as the plane begins its descent, I’m reminded of a story from a dream, in the newspaper, folded and placed haphazardly at the edge of a dimly lit park bench beneath the faintly flickering light of a black cast iron street lamp enveloped in fog.
The paper, soft and pliable as cloth, is damp and aromatic. From it I deduce the one who abandoned it was a cigar smoker, the acrid and sweet scents escape as I gingerly lift it to read the title of this page, “Father Forgets” by W. Livingston Lar…. The moisture has smudged the rest of the author’s name. (Why can I never read the dates?!)
Reading the first few lines intrigues me, so I sit forgetting but being quickly reminded of the cold and damp effect the fog has had on the paper and is now having on the seat of my jeans.
I think of Emmett and Max. I think of Les, Stephy, and of Lee Anne, and though I know I have been rarely like the author and nothing like my own plethora of parents, there are times I can make the same mistakes the author has made…
The park bench lands with a jolt that shakes the paper from my hand, the dimly lit fog from my view, and jabs a soft portion of my memory with the words on the page.
When I get the Internet back, I’ll look it up and finish it.”
Men, I dare you to do the same for your children’s sake.
Love your children, men of God.
Find and read this story.
Ask God for the balance.
“When we were with you, we lived in a holy and honest way, without fault. You know this is true, and so does God. You know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We encouraged you, we urged you, and we insisted that you live good lives for God, who calls you to his glorious kingdom.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12
