What a glorious symphony was heard throughout the land this past weekend.
It was, of course, Father's Day.
In our family, due respect and honor was given to my husband by myself and
by our two sons. But even before that, before the well-deserved praise and
celebration, came the praise, homage, honor and glory that we gave to our
Heavenly Father, without whom we would not be.
I wondered, as the day passed on and the regular week lay open before us,
if Our Heavenly Father's symphony also had some sorrowful notes in it. Did
God the Father weep for us, His children, knowing that, in many cases, no
thought was even given to Him as families celebrated in "style", not
realizing that the unity of the family is almost a thing of the long-distant past?
Did God the Father hear the sighs of fathers who are overworked,
overstressed, overburdened by the economical demands and financial
strategies that weigh upon the human heart? Did God the Father watch as
children delighted in presenting their father with gifts, bought with money
that dad had earned by hard work and which would necessitate even harder
work to pay off a credit card? Did God the Father see the sorrow in the
dad's eyes when the children, perhaps, wished to take him out to celebrate,
but there just wasn't enough money in the bank?
Did God the Father watch as the wife and mom of the family cheerfully
tried to keep the mood upbeat, but was aware of the "ungodlike"
characteristics given to 'Father's Day'?" Did God the Father notice the
wife's heart beat a bit harder, the blood pressure rise, because she had no
means by which to make the day a notable one for her beloved husband, and
realized that the demands of the children could not be met?
O, those are all parts of the sorrowful chords we, as God's children, have
been sending up to heaven for a very long time. We honor this parent or
that parent, we celebrate this or that holiday, and except at Christmas and
Easter, do we really put God into the picture?
In most cases, if truth be told, the answer is no!
And what, you ask, has any of this to do with a symphony!
Precisely this, for we are all God's children and in that bond there must
be unity with Him, and through Him with one another. Therefore, everything
we do, think, and say (and the reverse is also true) forms a musical chord.
That chord can be, and should be, distinctively vibrant and melodic.
However, when we miss a beat then the chord becomes off-key, and the sound
is irritating, to say the least.
Are we, in human terms, irritating God with our off-key symphony because
we no longer recognize Him, nor do we wish to give to Him our entire being
that makes the symphony complete, joyful and full of Celestial wonder?
For us, on this Father's Day, it was a day both of sorrow and of joy. Joy
to know, after several weeks of tests when Michael experienced on-going
chest pain and arm pain, that his condition, while not tip-top shape, was
not alarming, as we had both thought. It was a time, also, of seeing that
our oldest son, of whom I've been writing in the last several installments,
was unable, in so many ways, to participate with his dad in the things that
a young man of his age should do. Instead of a game of basketball, a trip
to the beach, even taking in a baseball game, our son found that he could
not unlock himself from the black cellophane wrapping that has encased him
now for what seems to us an eternity.
Of course, he cannot unlock himself from his dark depression and despair.
Only God can and will do that, in His time, not ours. But to see a young
man on the brink of manhood, suddenly doused with despair and sorrow so
deep that no one on the face of this earth can touch it, is an enormous
grief and sorrow for any parent…but one that I can only guess at with my
husband.
What must go through my husband's mind as he looks at our son, who was,
not so very long ago, vibrantly alive, clearly human in every respect, a
joy and a trial (which child is not at times a trial?). My husband sees,
in his own way, what I, the heart and the "feminine" eyes of this family
see each and every day: That the hopes we had for our sons, starting with
our oldest and continuing to his younger brother, might not be realized for
him.
Father's Day! To be a father, with all the weighty responsibility that
goes into that role! I cannot imagine what the feelings and emotions are
that go with that, but that's as it should be. I don't have to know, I
just have to understand the emotions and feelings are there, and that I
need to be accepting of them, as my husband must understand and accept my
feminine role.
But the symphony of suffering that we are experiencing concerning our
oldest son is a symphony who's strains are now touching upon Mir-A-Call
Center's apostolate itself.
For eight full years, without stopping, without time off for good
behavior, for a bit of "quality family time", of laboring with love for
Love in the vineyard of God's people, my husband (and I through him) now
realize that the ministry given by God is on the brink of evaporating
through neglect, indifference, apathy, laziness, and so forth.
Does it hurt? Yes, very much! But we accept!
Again, if you would like to help this ministry, in dire need of a transfusion, you can make a contribution by clicking on WE NEED YOUR HELP. Thank you and may God bless you.