And the world will live as one” is the last line of the song. I have a hard time making it through “And the Wo-oOo-rld” without my voice breaking. This song was my go-to comfort as a little boy. I could tuck myself under the shelf where the record player was and don the extra-large headphones with big vinal smelling pads so that I would be well out of the way. The record player was a floor away. And I could close the door. And with the record on the turntable spinning at 33 and ⅓ revolutions per minute, John could sing the words that soothe my little eight-year-old soul.

I would carefully pull the bar back to raise the arm and lift the needle off the vinal after the song was fully over. I would carefully line the sharp tip up with the outer tip of the black slowly dulling plastic and drop it down again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And it felt like it was never enough to get away from the screaming. At the other end of the house, it was still not far enough away from the fighting to not hear it when the music was not drowning it out.

Today is my son Dean’s eighth birthday. He’s got a whole different set of challenges to deal with. in a house with three (four if you count the dog) females he has a hard time finishing a sentence. In second grade it shows up when he needs to express himself and makes already elusive words flee to frustrating hard to reach places. I can see it in his face when his sister teases his failure at the parkour course he’s describing on the fly as he hangs off the monkey bars in the warm moist sun. Humidity hangs in the air slowing us all down a bit more.

Emotions are another thing that sends words off into far corners of our brain. Dean and I both have a hard time controlling anger when pushed over and over, but I have an endless supply for this little guy. One more try to get it right as he hits the wood chips again.

Y’allah, our dog, shows us a path to peace, love, and clarity of purpose. Living in the moment she can be an excellent example of God in action, here in our lives now. This second is the only time we really have to work with. I choose to be an instrument of God and let his work flow through me.