Obviously I don’t need any more pics of myself, since there are already plenty out there.

He didn’t want to see the kids with their big families going on big vacations to pretty places. Look, Mom, I’m on the Jet Ski! Look, Dad, I’m tan! He knew what golf courses and country clubs looked like, even if it was just in his imagination. He could picture beaches all the way to heaven itself. He didn’t need to see them on pages and pages belonging to kids, most of whom were now distant memories at his former high school.

That would only make him sad.

Thomas didn’t want to live life sad or in want.

Looking into store windows at things he didn’t and couldn’t have only made things worse.

So he chose to avoid those windows altogether.

It is what it is.

That’s what his aunt said all the time, the same aunt who’d lost a husband and a daughter, the same aunt who moved to New York to try to leave everything else behind.

It is what it is, and I can’t do a thing about it.

That was the window Thomas wanted to look into. That was the picture Thomas wanted to be a part of. That was the life he wanted—a life with no regret, a life of hope and faith. And yes, joy.

Lots of people probably didn’t appreciate this thing called joy. But Thomas did. He treasured that word.

Joy wasn’t something someone could buy or make.

Joy was something that only God could create.

Sitting in the uncomfortable seat on the loud bus home, Thomas realized that the only way to combat ignorance and hatred would be to show joy.

And that gave way to another idea. A crazy idea that made him smile.

Stuck in Traffic

Kevin dropped Jenny off in front of the hospital for her ultrasound and parked the car.

For a moment he stayed in his seat, hesitant to get out.

He didn’t want to know. He was afraid to know the truth.

It was one thing to go into a room and discover the fate of your job and livelihood. It was a whole other thing to meet with a doctor and find out the fate of the two growing lives in their mother’s belly.

He shut his eyes for a moment.

“God, please be with her. Be with those babies. Give us some good news. Let them be okay. Especially Baby B.”

As Kevin climbed out of the car and felt a cold blast of wind moving across the parking lot, he thought of what he’d be doing if Gregory were with him. Kevin would be holding his hand, making sure his son didn’t run ahead and in front of some oncoming car. Gregory would be at his side, and Daddy would be guiding him patiently toward the sidewalk.

Just like God the Father.

It was that simple.