Through Our Eyes

"I can't believe it! I eat beans and tortillas for two years and when I return home they take me to a Mexican restaurant for dinner!  What's up with that?!" 

It was years later that I tried to explain Dad's reasoning to David.  He'd been home from his mission for quite some time.  He'd even gotten married by then, but David had never been a parent.  He had never sent his 19 year old son off to a foreign country knowing full well that he wouldn't see his son for two years. 

Dad knew that he wouldn't be there to counsel with David, to protect, or care for him.  Dad wouldn't be there to see the joy in David's eyes when someone accepted his testimony of the Saviour, or David's disappointment and sorrow when people turned away from the Lord.  What a mixture of joy, pride, gratitude, and heartache that is embedded in a parent's soul.  The pain is intense, the joy and gratitude is boundless. 

"Your Dad loves you so much, David.  He is so proud of you for serving the Lord as a missionary.  More than anything, he wanted to live what you lived, learn what you learned, and experience what you experienced.  He couldn't do any of that. Dad wanted to be as close to your heart as possible." 

"In your eyes, David, it was just a restaurant, but through Dad's eyes, it was a glimmer of light from the window of your soul."