A Thousand Word Plus Picture
We have all head the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The front page of the Nashville Tennessean yesterday contained a photograph that was worth several, if not many, thousand words. A trial is underway in a 34-year old murder case. The photo was of Virginia Trimble Ritter who was on the witness stand holding the blue checked shirt her nine year old daughter, Marcia, had been wearing when she was murdered in February 1975. This was the first time she has seen it since the day Marcia left home to deliver Girl Scout cookies. Virginia’s comment as she wept “it seems like she just died yesterday.”

I have two comments on that photograph that come from a stirred heart. First, I fully understand her comment. As a parent who lost a child almost 13 years ago, there are many, many days that it seems like yesterday and the sense of loss and heaviness of heart is still with me.

Second, when I saw the photo, my mind immediately raced back to when I had watched an interview with Virginia Trimble in February 1975. Our two daughters were 4 and 2 respectively. As I watched this woman on television share her faith and trust in God, I thought she was crazy. Clearly she must be one of those brainwashed Christians who are not in touch with reality. I was not a believer at the time. While I did not reject the concept of God, I could not relate to someone who felt so close to Him that they could express faith while grieving over the murder of her child. It just did not compute in my mind. Several years later after I was awakened to the gospel, I thought back to that television interview and prayed a silent prayer of thanks for Virginia Trimble’s strong testimony. Yesterday, I prayed the same prayer again.