Daniel

 

  

Jack sat in his car with the engine running, radio on low as Lauren Daigle sang ‘I will trust in you’.  He closed his eyes and listened to the poetic words.  He thought about his beautiful daughter, now in her thirties who had been praying for years for a child, a baby.   And, his wonderful son-in-law, who stood by her side every day.  Jack thought – ‘defeat-after-defeat, all they could do was trust in you Lord – for something magnificent to happen – someday’.   Jack listened to the words - “when you don’t move the mountains - I needed you to move; when you don’t part the waters - I wish I could walk through; when you don’t give the answers - as I cry out to you – I will trust in you”.

For Jack, that was the part of being a believer that hurt the most, that perplexed him the most – the hardest assignment Christ calls us to – to trust in Him – no matter what.  Good or bad.

Looking at his watch, he needed to run – the courthouse was open and the ceremony was about to begin.  The judge was going to be surprised at the magnitude of the crowd that would stand in front of him this Friday morning in December, a sunny, warm winter day in Texas.     His daughters support group was there – to vouch for her, as a mother, a leader.  All she needed now was the final approval from the judge – to make it legal - and the boy would be hers.

Jack saw his Bible sitting on the passenger seat and picked it up to find one last source of encouragement – maybe something he could share later in the day.  It flipped open to the book of Daniel.

Daniel – ‘that’s weird’ he said.  His new grandson’s name: a 10 year old blonde headed miracle – a real stick of dynamite – born in California, now living in Texas.  Jack’s eyes were drawn quickly to Daniel 2:48 – and he read “Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position in the kingdom, lavished him with gifts and made him governor over the entire province of Babylon and the chief in charge of all the wise men.”

Jack rushed inside to be a witness before the Judge, to be a father to his daughter and Mzee to the new kid.  Daniel became his newest (and oldest) grand-child that day in December 2016.