THE QUESTION


Over two decades ago a dad was standing on his back patio, taking in the beauty of a crisp fall day that was cool, but comfortable. As he watched the clouds gracefully slipping across the sky and the trees being caressed by the breeze, he was joined by his son, who was about seven years old. The two stood silently for some time and together enjoyed the peace and simplicity of this special day, with its bright blue sky and pure white clouds.

After several minutes of rare quiet the young boy gently broke the silence. He asked, “Dad, what color is God?” The dad’s mind reeled at the responsibility inherent in his answer. After all, his son was old enough to recognize that not everyone in the world was the same color. Anxiety gave way to a chilling fear, as he realized he would forever be held accountable for the way in which he molded his son’s character. The wrong answer may cause his son to develop the prejudice that he had worked so hard to eliminate from his own life. Even worse, it could skew the boy’s perception of God and forever taint his son’s ability to properly relate to his Heavenly Father. Quickly but silently, the dad prayed for wisdom.

Amazingly, the young boy did not seem bothered with the pause between his question and the dad’s response. The dad was very grateful for that. His amazement and gratitude multiplied when he suddenly knew just how to answer the question.

“Son,” the dad asked, “do you see the wind blowing through that cottonwood tree?” “Yes, I can see that,” replied the son. His dad said,“Well, that is the color of God. God is a "spirit" like a breath, and does not have skin like you and me, so you can tell where He is but you don’t really see Him; just like you can see the branches of the tree move and know the wind is there.”

Watching his son carefully and bracing himself for an even harder to answer follow-up question, the dad was relieved to see a smile spread across his son’s little face. Immediately following was a look in the boy’s eyes that told his dad that he understood the answer. That dad will never forget how proud he felt at that moment; Not proud of himself, but proud of his son – because he knew his son truly did understand.

11/11/2009: Happy 28th birthday Gabriel,
Dad