I love my dad very very much.
This is why my daughter totally amazes me.
“But Steve, this is a picture of Russian Matroishka dolls. What does that mean? That’s crazy talk.”
She knows that all I really want for Christmas is a gift that is hand made and means something. There have been some amazing gifts from the past that made me literally fight to keep from breaking down and crying. (yes, I know…I’m a wussy) I have received hand made picture albums. Plaster casts of their hands. She made me a plaque of Russia once, complete with a misspelled word. But this gift a few months ago takes the cake. I saw it this morning before I headed out for my day and was reminded just what an amazing lady she is.
She gave me a craft box with “do it yourself” matrioshka dolls in it. She hand painted each of them. And then the “piece de resistance”: she put pictures of her face on each and every one. It is the most inventive and amazing gift ever given.
I wish God would let me have a small glimpse of what her life is going to turn out to be like. I already know she is going to be just fine; which is a parent’s greatest concern. But her innate creativity and human empathy leads me to believe that there is some kind of amazing destiny in store for her. Mine hasn’t been shit. But hers….there is just something there. I know it. I can feel it. There will be a shifting of authority soon. She will go from being under my spiritual protection and prayer umbrella to abiding under the wings of another man. And it must be so. But that doesn’t mean I like it. Even though that is the way it has been ordained for thousands of years. I hope the ball doesn’t get fumbled.
I’m excited to think of the things her hands will paint in the future. I smile when I wonder what kind of amazing idea will be born in her imagination in the future. How many cheeks will bear tears of love because of some small act of kindness or grace she gives out to those who don’t deserve it? How content will her husband feel as he knows he has become one with her? What kind of children will she prepare to unleash upon the world? And when all is said and done, and the books get opened before the Almighty, what kind of things will have been written about her in the annals of eternity? Will she also hear “well done good and faithful servant”? Will her Maker be as pleased as the one chosen to be her father in this world? My money is on “yes”.
So small pieces of wood, carved and fashioned to meticulously fit one inside each other is nothing but a portent of what is to come. And a brush with bathed in paint can symbolize what is good and right with my life. Outwardly, it doesn’t seem like much. But in reality, it’s all good in the hood. Thanks God!
