Remember the Titans is one of my all-time favorite movies for so many reasons. It’s based on the true story of African American coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington and his attempt to integrate a high school football team in 1970’s Alexandria, VA. There are so many reasons to love this movie the least of which is the amazing soundtrack featuring Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Spirit in the Sky, and I Want to Take You Higher. If you’ve been following my blog, you all know how much I love music, and this is some of the old-time “feel good” music that lifts me up! But enough about the tunes.
There is one line in the movie where Coach Boone asks one of the main characters, “Who’s Your Daddy?” The line crossed my mind recently when my son received an assignment in his discipleship class to list 20 names to describe Jesus. He came up with about 8 of them pretty quickly but the first one was Father. After the year my sweet boy has had it touched my heart deeply that this was the first name he thought of. It wasn’t that long ago when he asked me, “Why didn’t God intervene and stop Melanie from dying?” Whoa! Very valid question, isn’t it? If you’ve lost a loved one and are on this grief journey with us I’m certain you and your family have asked the same question, haven’t you?
W.H.Y. It may only be 3 little letters, but they hold a powerful punch. My friends, we can make a choice and hold on to the why, or we can hold out our hand to The One who holds the key to our heart.
I am thankful that we already had a firm foundation in our faith when Melanie went on to heaven. This hasn’t eliminated us from asking the question why, but it has helped sustain us during this tough grief journey.
Shortly after that school assignment as we drove down the road a song called, You’ve Always Been by Unspoken came on the radio. We all looked at one another as we heard the words:
You’ve been my Savior, Sustainer, when I’m at my end
My Healer, Redeemer, again and again
My Mother and my Father, Brother, Sister, and Friend
Everything I’ve needed Lord, you’ve always been
Sometimes in life we’ll never receive an answer to the question “Why?” on this side of heaven. But, if you know who your Daddy is, rest assured He will remain right by your side during the highs, and especially during the lows. As Austin French says in his song, Why God, when we ask “why?” it doesn’t make you a bad Christian, it makes you a kid asking your Daddy a valid question.
This one really hit home. Thank-you Lord for being our Father and making us your beloved sons and daughters. I desperately need You to hold my hand tightly every day.
How blessed we are to confidently cry out, Abba Father. May he continue to be as close to you as the air you breathe. 💜
There seems to be so many WHY’s in our lives, especially in our times of Grief. Trusting in God our Father and His plan is what brings us comfort and acceptance. Knowing that Jesus while on earth experienced the same human emotions that we did helps me to understand better that God our Father knows our pain, sorrow, and joy. He is always there for us offering comfort, just as a good earthly Father tries to be. Thank you , God. Jean
Sending prayers for peace and comfort 💜