Recently a friend who teaches philosophy asked if I'd participate in a social experiment. He was trying to collect pictures from people across a wide spectrum that summarized their philosophy of life. Fascinating question. I thought about it for a couple of days.
I settled in on one of my favorite pictures ever. Here it is:
Understand that I wrote this just past midnight (the day after Father's Day), so I'm not sure I buy into all of my description, but here's what I wrote to explain the picture:
Attached is a picture of my daughter Kaelyn on her first day of school. She's waiting in line to meet her teacher for the first time. You might observe the smile and assume that she was cool, but I know her better. She's scared to death. But when I ask her, "can you smile for me?" she gives it her best shot. And as her Father, I feel immensely proud. She trusts me. Even though it'll be rough, it's not that bad.
Even though the metaphor breaks apart when teased out fully, I see this in my philosophy of life. As a theist, I hold that a creator God who knows me intimately hovers over this life. He knows my fear. He knows that this journey might not end up like I want it to. But he asks for that smile. He just asks that I give it my best shot, knowing that he's looking down on me. He asks that I trust. So I look up at him, give a hesitant smile, and try to make him proud.