Colorado Springs, Colorado 2208 A.D.
When I was four years old, I visited an old military base with my parents and all of my relatives. There was a camera crew that followed Daddy everywhere he went, which was strange because he wasn’t anyone special. He was Daddy. The entire base was inside a mountain, which I thought was cool, even though Daddy’s face told me that he didn’t want to be there.
First, we all visited an old room, empty the exception of an old clock and a screen, and everyone got really quiet - especially Daddy. I didn’t understand why everyone cared about it; so I decided to watch them and see if I could figure it out. I’ve always liked figuring things out, especially the things that grown-ups care about.
Next we all went into a big room with a stage in it. Daddy came in through a door at the back of the stage, followed by the camera crew. He walked slowly, like his feet were feeling heavy, but he made it to the front of the stage, where two wooden posts were bolted to the floor.
The posts weren’t any more interesting than the room with the clock, but everyone got really quiet again while Daddy touched the posts, which seemed to make him both happy and sad at the same time. When they put the light behind him, I realized that this must be the place that was pictured in my puzzle of Daddy. He wouldn’t talk about it, but Mom had told me that this place was where Daddy had once solved a big puzzle. That made me even more confused. Why would solving a puzzle make Daddy sad?
“What are you remembering, Cephas?” Mommy asked Daddy. “Pain? Fear?”
“Both; but they’re not the strongest memories. The strongest memory is still love. Jesus did what He did out of His endless love. He loaned some to me, to help me through what He asked me to do.”
I was standing in the front row and, as I looked back at all of the grown-ups, I decided that maybe I didn’t want to understand grown-up puzzles, if they were going to make everyone sad. Then I realized that my baby brother Austin was fussing and Mommy wasn’t holding my hand anymore. I didn’t like seeing Daddy sad, so I thought I should go cheer him up. Maybe I could remind Daddy that puzzles are supposed to be fun.
I ran onto the stage.
“Daddy? Is this where you solved the big puzzle?” I asked.
My question made him look even more sad; so I did my best to brighten my smile and my eyes.
“I didn’t solve the puzzle, sweetheart,” Daddy said, slowly. “It’s a secret only the puzzle maker knows.”
I was still thinking about that, when Mommy took my hand and led me out of the big room. She wasn’t mad, but she also wasn’t going to let me help cheer Daddy up anymore, either.
After that, it seemed like Daddy was always surrounded by family and friends. I could have asked him more questions with everyone around, but I’d always thought that Daddy’s answers were more interesting when it was just the two of us, so I waited.
In the afternoon, Austin and my little cousin Cam Jr. were put down for naps and Mom said I should have a nap too, after such a busy morning. I didn’t want to nap, so we agreed that I could play quietly in my room. That’s when Daddy came to see me. It turned out that he’d been waiting to talk to me alone, too. First, he gave me a big hug and kissed me on the head.
“Of all the questions that reporters and family and friends asked me all day, your question was the best,” he said.
“Really? All I asked was if that was the place where you solved the big puzzle.”
“I know…” he said, “…but it wasn’t the question. It was the way you asked it, and the look in your eyes. You see, the first time I was inside that mountain, there were a lot of bad men there with me; so when I got there today, I made the mistake of thinking about them. Then, when you asked your question, I stopped thinking about the bad men, and instead I thought about all the puzzles that can be solved, and how much fun it is to solve them. You reminded me that the whole point of a puzzle is that it’s meant to be solved.”
“But Daddy, you said the puzzle is a secret that only the puzzle maker knows. That means God, right?” I asked.
“Yes, sweetheart. I was talking about God.”
“Daddy … you’re the best puzzle solver in the whole world, ever. Why did God create a puzzle that even you can’t solve?”
Daddy smiled.
“Jocie, you reminded me today that God created puzzles we can’t solve so that we’ll always have something greater than ourselves to keep reaching for … because if we’re always reaching for puzzles, we’ll always be reaching for Him. Besides, maybe I’m not the best puzzle solver ever. Maybe there’s someone else who will be even better … once she’s a little older.”
He gently touched his pointer finger to the end of my nose, which made me giggle.
“Do you think Daddy, that we could solve some puzzles together someday?”
Daddy smiled again.
“I know we will, sweetheart. I know we will.”
******
One of the friends who stayed the whole day was Mom and Dad’s old friend, Albert. Albert knew how to make his own fireworks and had brought some with him, saying that we’d light them off after dinner to celebrate the anniversary of Daddy being inside the mountain. It had been dark for an hour, and I was looking for him, to ask him to start the show. I heard his voice in Daddy’s office; so I waited outside and listened.
“Cephas, there’s something I need to tell you,” Mr. Albert said.
“I’ve been waiting for over five years to hear this secret, Albert.”
“Five years? Are you saying you’ve known since …”
“… since the day Bethany House was destroyed,” Daddy replied.
“Wow. Do you also know that Martha is …”
“… planning a surprise party for my birthday? Don’t change the subject. I assume you’re telling me now because of the memo?”
“Yes. I should have told you on the day Austin was christened. When you said his full name …”
“Austin? What does Austin have to do with it?” Daddy asked.
“His initials are on it, Cephas. See for yourself.”
I heard the sound of something made of metal being set down on Daddy’s desk, and then they were silent for a long time.
“Will you do me a favor, Albert? Take it to Ogallala and ask Cindi to hide it. Then give this message to Cameron for me: ‘Buried Treasure.’”