Coming home, I was unexpectedly joyful! As we headed toward the baggage claim area in LAX, I spotted dad standing with a luggage cart. It was unexpected because I had not seen him from a distance or anything like that, and I had not really thought about what to say, as I was still processing my arrival in LA. Almost instinctively, I left the group and walked towards him.
As I walked up to him, I said, "Hi dad, how are you?" That must have been the remaining residual Ghanaian still left in me, because I cannot even recall asking him how he was...ever! I don't think God could have placed that phrase better in our conversation. He replied with, "Uuuuu, same old, same old," probably taken aback a bit by my greeting. He kinda had a delighted smile on his face, which made it easier to enjoy my first welcome back to LA.
He told me to put my guitar on the cart so I could go get my other suitcase. He asked me if there were any problems, and I told him about my chipped tooth. Surprisingly, he did not react as he might have before! It was either because I tried my best to emphasize the fact that it was now fixed, or because God had been working in him (or perhaps a mix of the two).
As I went back to the group, we waited for all the luggage to come down from the plane. This bittersweet moment didn't last too long, as I promptly gathered my suitcase and said my goodbyes, for I did not want to aggravate dad by making him wait too long.
I don't know where it started, but the entire time I was with dad--from the walk to the car to the ride home--I had this joyful and happy assurance that God had already done a great work in him, and the whole family! It was so amazing to glimpse some of the fruits of all the prayer that went into this. As a result of our many prayers as a team, and individually, God reached into His supply of everlasting love and grace, and did this mighty deed within each member. I remember having the song, "I will lift up Your name higher. I will lift up Your name higher. Great Jehovah, You are wonderful. I will lift up Your name higher," in my head the whole day, praising God for the work He had done! I just wanted to give God praise and glory for what I felt had already happened.
For some reason, I had in me an inkling to ask dad how he had been this past month. This curiosity was answered with an unfamiliar interest in sharing about the well-being of the entire family. So even as I was still at the airport, I was able to witness some of the results of God's great work: I saw an extra measure of patience in my dad (he didn't get frustrated as I asked questions & made little comments without waiting for a 'long enough pause'--usually about 20 seconds), as well as an interest to talk and engage in a conversation. I even had more patience and interest in how they had been this past month, instead of spilling all my experiences in Ghana.
All this was just so precious, especially after all the prayers, tears, and frustrations. I also noticed that I spoke with more authority when answering to the annoyances of my younger adolescent sister, and when speaking of spiritual truths. But with that authority also came an extra sense of humor. We spent our dinner time that night together as a family--the family I had longed to interact with for so long--laughing and enjoying each others' presence. My dad laughed more that night than I have seen in a long time. And there was no movie or TV show that was on either--it was just us together!
Man, that was such a sweet taste of God's goodness :) All the praise & glory to God!! And to think this was only the first day back! It is moments like these that are priceless.
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