Bridging The Worlds Troubled Waters
If we thought his voice was his reigning attribute, we now know there is so much more..... there is his loving heart, his gleaming spirit and a soul brimming with goodness! And then, there are the hands. The hands that speak volumes as he dips long fingers into foreign waters and creates ripples in the pond of humanity, ever widening the rings of altruistic endeavors. The inner ring is the pulse, the heart and soul of it's creator. The next outer ring is the one encompassing the art, the flair and the mastery of the creator's voice, not just his beautiful and touching singing voice but more recently his speaking voice. The voice that speaks his desires for the world’s children. The next widening ripple represents this one young man reaching out and touching others on the shores of his homeland. The sick and disabled, the disillusioned and the excluded. Finally the widest ring of all is the one that reaches out to foreign shores and making its way to land, it flows and ebbs mimicking life itself.
He, of course is Clay Aiken bringing love, warmth, care and understanding to the small, the frail and the lost. The littlest victims and survivors of the vicious Tsunami that hit Aceh, Indonesia several weeks ago. He wears his bright blue UNICEF arm band as a soldier wears his medals, with pride and honor. He is there to lift the spirits of the little ones who have lost so much but he is the one who is greeted with dazzling smiles as tiny bodies coupled with tiny voices sing and dance for him, welcoming the tall American to their warm and sunny beach. Today it is sun drenched, quiet and calm, but all around the ghosts of unheard voices scream out that their children are now homeless, mother and father less, orphans and victims of a crime so swift and so cruel, without rhyme or reason, leaving behind the devastation of fallen buildings, crumbled homes and schools wiped away by nature as a child would knock down building blocks with a kick of his foot.
But Clay is in his element, he is with children.....sitting on the sand, cross legged with a look on his face that says it all, it is as though the light of his soul is escaping through the pores of his face, he glows in the sunlight.......he is the teacher he always wanted to be and his students are hungry to learn from him. He looks nothing like the pop star we have come to know and yet he has never looked more beautiful. He looks every bit the teacher, bespectacled and surrounded by his "class", his children. Clay joins his children in song, learning their words and singing back to them. It is already a love affair of grand proportions as one little boy sits comfortably close and rests his little hand on Clay's knee. He has already been accepted, he is already trusted, he is already loved!
When you're weary, feeling small
when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all
I'm on your side, Oh when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water
I will lay me down
Clay has laid himself down on this journey, and is working his own brand of magic helping to bridge the troubled waters in the lives of these children. Just by stepping foot on their soil he has made a statement that someone cares, someone is there for them. I can't help but wonder how many large, round eyes have been branded to his heart, how many voices will live within his ears, the voices of the children on this land will reverberate within forever. I wonder how much freedom he has to do what he wants to do, will he tuck some in to bed tonight, will he read to them, even if it's in English? All one needs to do is to listen to that beautiful, soft spoken southern drawl to be lulled into quiet clam and comfort. How many children has he held in his arms today, will he remember always what that felt like, were they too thin, were their clothes thread bare? Will they sleep on thin mats instead of beds?
When you're down and out, When you're in the street
When evening falls so hard, I will comfort you
I'll take your part, Oh when darkness comes
and pain is all around
Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water
I will lay me down
Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water
I will lay me down
For the next few days, his will be the footprints that will walk beside these children and carry them when they seemingly can't go on. How will Clay affect them? Will they always remember the tall, thin American who came to visit them? Will they remember his gentle voice, will they remember the Auburn hair that gleamed in the sunlight and the jade green eyes that twinkled as they smiled back at these children? I say yes! And I say, that Clay Aiken will forever be branded to their hearts, what ever he does with them and for them in these next few days, if he sings to them and plays with them and tries to learn a few words in their language, he will forever live within their hearts! His visit will enrich their minds and nourish their souls. He will leave something behind that no one else can, a bit of himself, a bit of his special light a bit of his heavenly touch! They will feel his arms wrapped around them in hugs that will leave the imprint of his love, forever!
He will come back to us a changed man! We will love him all the more!
May God bless his travels and keep Clay safely within the Palms of His Hands!