Last week my (Michelle) dad had an infection that did not respond to the prescribed antibiotics and the infection went septic.  He was inches away from death.  His kidneys had begun to shut down and his dear friend, Dr. John Moorhouse literally saved his life.  I flew out to be with he and my mom as he recovered in the hospital.  When we had a minute alone, I finally broke down and just sobbed all over the place.  There were no regrets, apologies or unspoken words of love that we needed to catch up on, accelerated by the gravity of the situation.  We had no unfinished business between us.  There was just straight up, hurt-so-good love.  He is an amazing man who has loved me well and his pain is surely mine.  It is his 65th birthday today and let me tell you, we are celebrating.  We are celebrating that he is alive!  He is the treasured patriarch of our family and we are so, so thankful for him.

His upbringing was lacking, so say the least, and he was never given the tools to be a good parent.  Generational brokenness would have destroyed his life, if not for redemption.  When I was a young girl, my dad encountered Jesus and allowed Him into his pain.  He began a transformation that no one imagined possible and His heavenly Father gave him what his earthly father never could.  If you were to hear his story, you would be dumbfounded.  It just doesn't add up.  He should be a mess and so should his children. But he isn't!  Because of Jesus, he is healed and whole.  Because of Jesus, he freely gives the purest love to us.  He has no smell of smoke on him.

I wrote the song, "Smoke" for my dad's birthday 5 years ago.  Give it a listen and celebrate redemption with us this day.  My dad, Roark Russell Thornberry, turns 65 this day. Dad, I celebrate your life with increasing passion and a grateful heart.  I love you.

Download 03 Smoke