Ray

Set-up: The late pianist, singer, and composer Ray Charles is the subject of this award-winning biographical film. Staring Jamie Foxx, Ray is about the challenges, successes, failings, and addictions of the famous blind musician. The film reveals how Ray compensated for his blindness by learning to hear what others could not—a skill that would contribute to his musical talent.
Scene: As a 10-year-old boy, Ray enters his home and trips over a rocking chair. He falls, cries out in pain, and calls to his mother for help. His mother instinctively steps forward, but then stops herself, quietly steps back, and returns to her work. Ray, lying on the floor, continues to cry for his mother's help.
Believing he is alone, Ray is forced to listen more carefully for help. First he hears men chattering outside and a hen clucking. He stops crying, turns his head, and slowly gets up. He hears more people talking, a cow mooing, and metal clanking. He turns his head in the direction of a kettle of boiling water.
Stretching out his arms, he walks toward a crackling fireplace and feels its heat, pulling back his hand when it comes too close. His mother watches him carefully, concerned with his every move. Ray listens intently as a horse and carriage go by.
He then hears a cheeping grasshopper close by and walks toward it. He bends down and, fumbling a bit, encloses his hands around the grasshopper. Smiling, he picks it up and puts it to his ear. His mother is taken aback and gives a low gasp.
"I hear you, Mama. You're right there," Ray says.
His mother now has tears streaming down her face. She tells him, "Yes, yes, I am." She kneels in front of Ray and embraces him.
Conclusion: God is often silent even when we cry out to him from our pain. But we should not mistake God's silence for his absence. By not responding to his cries for help, Ray's mother revealed the depth of her love for him. She wanted him to grow and learn through his struggle, not simply find comfort.
God wants to use the painful circumstances of our lives to teach and form us, and sometimes the best instruction and guidance comes through silence. But God is always with us, watching our discoveries, and celebrating our growth.

Graham Best, Coquitlam, British Columbia