Eyes to See

The last few days have been filled with non-stop activity, and I do mean non-stop ... in a good way, though, in a very good way. On Saturday, I was honored to speak for the first time with Nate Phelps, son of Fred Phelps who was the former pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church. We spoke at the Center for Spiritual Living for an event called God and Gays. Sunday, I stood in front of Westboro Baptist Church and Equality House in Topeka, Kansas, and watched as my son Brad and producer Jason filmed the incredibly powerful conversations that took place between Nate and his brother Mark as they shared stories of the abuse and terror that occurred within the walls of the "church" that was also their home. Yesterday began with a lengthy meeting with several producers from a television network about our documentary, followed by driving through torrential rain to reach an old abandoned church next to a cemetery where we spent several hours filming interviews with Mark and Nate. All three days were days I would never have imagined I would experience in my lifetime ... all three days gave all new meaning to the word surreal for me.

To try and relate all the poignant and touching moments of the last few days might well be impossible ... in fact, there were so many of those moments, I'm certain it will take my brain a while to process them. I fully intended to write about one of those moments in particular this evening, but ... but ... but ... I just spent the last three hours stretched out on my couch watching the Royals win game three of the ALCS in their seemingly unstoppable march toward the World Series. And now I'm way too tired to write about something so profound ... I'm struggling to keep my eyes open as I type. So tonight I'm going to bed, but I promise I'll write the post tomorrow I had intended to write tonight. But until then, I want to leave you with something you can ponder upon ... something you can mull over ... something you can chew on for a bit.

You can't see with your eyes closed, friends ... not even what's right in front of you.