“Oh the thinks you can think, think and wonder and dream, far and wide as you dare …”
One of my favorite musicals is “Seussical,” the whimisical stage interpretation of Dr. Seuss’s timeless universe. With a medley of plotlines telling the stories of Horton the elephant, Gertrude McFuzz and Amayzing Mayzie, “Seussical” brought a child-like magic to Broadway in 2000.
“Oh the thinks you can think, any thinker who thinks, can come up with a few …”
The “host and emcee” in the show is none other than the Cat in the Hat. And in Harding’s 2012 production, this role was given to a baby-faced freshman, bursting with charisma and contagious youthful energy. His name? Harrison Waldron.
“Oh the thinks you can think, when you think about Seuss.”
There are not many people at Harding who — in the wake of the accident that has placed Harrison indefinitely in a coma — are not #prayingfortheWaldrons. Harrison’s wife, Hayley, posts frequently to Facebook, updating a congregation of family and friends on his fallbacks and improvements — posts which consistently receive more than a thousand likes.
In times like this, we find ourselves asking the age-old question: why do bad things happen to good people? In the Christian community, it is a slightly modified inquiry, but follows those same lines: why does God let bad things happen to his good, and exceptionally talented, children?
It’s a fair question. Yes, we can delve into greater purposes and silver linings and all the cliches, but none of that is important at the moment. It benefits nobody, really.
What matters is the end goal we can see right now.
I am a theater student, as is Harrison, and something we learn is that, no matter how a scene progresses, you have to fight to reach the preconceived end goal. Because the show must go on. Sometimes staging changes mid-performance. Sometimes actors are forced to create new entrances to accommodate for complications backstage. You do whatever you have to do, because bad things happen. It’s inevitable — so Acting 101 teaches us to be willing to adapt, yet to be firm in where we close, because all’s well that ends well.
No, we do not know why this tragic accident happened. Yes, bad things happen to good, talented people. No, we do not know God’s plan for our young Cat in the Hat. But as Harrison and I have both learned on the stage, we need to focus on doing what we can to fix this minor setback. The end of the show is in God’s hands alone. But this particular scene is drawing to a close, and I think we can draw some conclusions before the blackout.
While it is hard — if not impossible — for us to superimpose such a terrible accident onto the back of a spiritual benefactor who has our best interests at heart, there is one thing we can say with certainty: the movement that has risen up in support of one man and his young wife is beyond description. It is something conceivable only in the mind of an almighty Spirit — someone who works all things together for the good of those who love him.
Harrison’s name is on the lips of thousands. Many only know him through association. Some of us know very little about him.
Yet this one man has unconsciously brought together an entire league of believers in the name of Jesus. And that is a good, good thing.
Sleep well, Harrison. I hope you are having some wonderful thinks.
