Carys Comma

I want you to be wise about what’s good, 

and innocent about what’s evil. 

Daughter of my Heart, 


My Dad (your Papa/grampa) was just one in a line of poor farmers. His parents were simple people with a depth that was both broken and beautiful. They passed on a simple wisdom to my Dad that he used like a compass to guide him through the strange, harsh brokenness that they also gave to him. 


He believes in hard work. 
He believes in dedication to family. 
He believes in doing your best. 


Your grampa had no idea how to raise a family, and he had no idea how to guide three little boys through a divorce and the death of their mother. Yet, at the same time, he was perfect for the task. He approached the terrible reality with a simple resolution - he worked hard, loved much, and did the best that he could. 


He passed on to me his simple resoluteness and his complex brokenness. He has plenty to be ashamed of in raising your uncles and I, but he has so much more to be proud of. 


Growing up, whenever we would leave the house, he would always tell us the same thing 'Be good.' To this day, he ends phone conversations by telling me to 'be good.' 


It is a simple and straightforward parental edict, yet it carries with it a mighty weight of responsibility. 


My prayer for you echoes my father's simple edict. I pray that you would be good - not for me or your mother. I hope that you are good for yourself, and your happiness and for the elusive confidence whose  absences carves at our hearts and fills the new cave with guilt. 


Your goodness is your happiness. So, be good. Be so good that you are filled with a simple, broken, unconquerable  joy.