happy birthday dad

tomorrow is my dad's 55th birthday. sadly, i won't be able to make it back to lake forest to celebrate with him. i'm not usually one to remember how we have celebrated our family members birthdays in the past, yet i can guess that almost every year in the past for my dad's birthday, we've gone to his (and my) favorite sushi restaurant for dinner. it's a good easy way to celebrate; dinner with the people you love.

also, i'm certainly never able to recall what presents i bought for people in the past. sometimes i even fear buying someone something that i may have bought for them on a previous birthday.

but... i don't think i will ever forget what my family did and what i bought my dad for his 52nd birthday back in 2002.

my dad didn't want to do anything too fancy, so instead of going out, our family stayed in and ate one of my mom's famous home cooked meals. after dinner my dad made his way up to his room to rest before opening his presents. we all decided to let him relax in his favorite chair and we gathered together in my parents room to give him his gifts. one by one we went around the room... i was last... and i was nervous...

my dad has this ability to just hold a wrapped present and guess exactly what it is, so the second he took the present from my hand, he knew it was a book... but he had no idea what book...

when he ripped the wrapping paper off, his eyes caught a glimpse of the title, "let's roll." now, if you are unfamiliar with this book, let me explain...

the lady who wrote this book, lisa beamer, wrote it about her husband, todd beamer, who was one of the hero's on flight 93 from september 11th. he was one of the men that took down the terrorists, causing the plane to crash in the middle of pennsylvania, rather then into the white house. right before they attacked the terrorists on the plane, someone said, "are you ready?" todd beamer replied with, "let's roll." the book is about his life, their family, and his love for the Lord.

when my dad saw the title, he began to cry... no weep. when we lived out in california my dad worked with david beamer, todd's dad. my dad knew their family very well. i wanted to give this book to my dad because of how personal it was... though he cried and cried and cried... he couldn't stop thanking me for the wonderful gift. he talked about how he will never forget where he was when he found out about todd... just as i will never forget that i was sitting in 2nd period chemistry when i first heard, and watched, the 2nd plane hit the world trade center.

this past sunday (september 11), there was a special about flight 93 called "the flight that fought back." i watched it... i didn't know todd beamer... but i cried. i cried because i knew that my dad was most likely watching it back at home, but also because of the tears he shed when i gave him that book for his birthday 3 years ago.

have you ever seen your dad cry? let alone weep?... man... no words can describe how heart wrenching and painful it is to watch your dad sob.

got me thinking though... the thought of my Father crying, Yeshua crying... tears fall with just the quick thought of it.

crying is painful, but so powerful.

so cry. (especially if you're a boy - it's okay to cry... i'm giving you permission to cry).

so again... cry.