Letter to our Daughters

Our family is often spread to different corners of the world. But we’re emotionally close and we value communication and accessibility.

For me that’s often texts and phone conversations with our daughters, but for John it’s usually emails. The other day he sent this email to them. I share it with their permission, in hopes that looking over his shoulder will be a blessing to you too.

So, I'm walking along the beach, trying to recover... I mean, I jogged almost four miles (or was that four blocks?). For some reason, seeing a sailboat brought you to mind. One sign of age is not being able to remember whether (or how often) you've said something, so you may be rolling your eyes, but…

Long ago, the Sirens were a group of very angry women spirits - angry at men for some ancient slight. They had the power of enchantment with their voices and music, and would lure sailors to themselves as they were passing through a narrow strait, leading them to crash on the rocks.

Only two heroes triumphed: When Ulysses and crew knew they had to go through the strait he wisely told his men to fill their ears with wax, to be immune to their music. But he wanted to hear, so he made his men lash him to the mast, swearing them not to release him until they were out of sight of the island.

As they sailed by, the women played and cried out to the men, but they were deaf... all but Ulysses, who strained against the cords, until long after the island was out of sight, hearing the music in his mind. And ever after he would hear the music tempting him.

But the other was Jason (and the Argonauts). As the ship approached the Sirens, he asked Orpheus, the world's best musician whom he'd been counseled to bring along, to begin playing. So sweet was his music that the sailors were more strongly enchanted than by the sound of the Sirens, and they all sailed to safety...

All that from the sight of a sailboat, and too little oxygen! But I've thought of how we resist the temptations and dangers of the world. Sometimes it's like Ulysses, and we bind ourselves by oaths or accountability or strength of will; other times, though, we need “better music”.

The reminder of the Good,

Noble

Beautiful,

that God sets before us.

I prayed for you guys this morning, for some reason about guys… That you wouldn't settle, or hear the siren call of loneliness or peer pressure...

And I prayed even harder for two men out there - that they too, would be learning to hear the music that is stronger than the music of the world. Love you both, to the moon!