Message in a bottle.

The storm blew ashore from the south-east. It drove the red tide eastwards from Apalachicola. People coughed, fish died and the ghost crabs feasted on the unexpected bounty. A message in a bottle had been committed to the deep. It too floated in that storm and was eventually washed ashore. I found it in the sea grasses just above the high tide mark.

In addition to the message, the bottle contained a couple of million dollar notes of play money, a small silver tone crucifix on a cord and a costume jewelry infinity charm that had been woven into a bracelet with yellow paracord. The message was on two note pages, hand written in a style consistent with a teenager.

Here is the message verbatim.

(Page 1)

A note to my wonderful Dad.

He was a man to be proud to say he was your dad

I called him pops.

Pops the last eight months I got to take care of you. It will never compare to you taking care of me my whole life. I miss you today, yesterday and every day. No more pain, only love. I’ll see you soon pops. Hugs and kisses. You were my true love. ♥

(Page 2)

LOL!!!
A little money just because you would have liked this. You always love to joke and laugh, so here’s a million, (make that two) just because LOL.

A cross to let you know my heart belongs to God and I’ll meet you in heaven again some
day.

Infinity – what we have shared will never end.

I Love you Pops!

Your the man.

(Page 3)

I am my Daddy made over

I am who I am because of him. He gave me my courage and my strength to stand tall even when standing wasn’t easy.

Stand for the ones who can’t
To think and fend for myself
I’m my Daddy made over.

Taught me to fight back, to never back down
Gave me my temper, taught me not to take crap
To speak my mind NO matter what
Work for what I want
I’m my Daddy made over

How to keep my emotions in check
How to handle large amounts of pain.
When in trouble he always had my back.
He knew how my mind worked better than anyone.

I am my Daddy made over. ♥

(Page 4)

(Written up the left margin: God has you in his arms, I have you in my heart.)

Even though he’s gone I’ll stand and continue on. I may stumble. I may fall but I’ll pick myself back up I’ll dust myself off and stand tall

I’m honored and proud to say I’m my Daddy made over.

R.I. P. (Note: I have redacted the dates of his birth and death for privacy; he was 47 when he died. Alembe.)

No more will you suffer

I love you, more Daddy. Blow kisses.

I miss you until I see you again in Heaven. ♥

I am conflicted by this poignant, yet heart-felt message. The thoughts and actions are obviously part of the grieving process of a young person (let us call her Jess) who has recently lost her father. As atheists we look on objectively and say, “Well, the message will never reach him and Jess will never see him again.”

Yet, it seems to me that Jess takes considerable comfort in the belief that a) this message will somehow reach her Father and b) she will someday see him again in heaven. At this moment in time, that comfort seems real and may well help her come to terms with and accept his death. If she stays a Christian for the rest of her life, those assumptions will probably not be challenged.