Welcome to a bonus episode of the Daily Article podcast. Today's bonus episode is titled

Family Reunited with Message in a Bottle written by their late son, and is written by Dr. Jim

Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins of the Denison Forum. When Brian Dole was 11 years old, he participated in a sixth grade class project in which he wrote a note,

put it in a bottle, and put the bottle in Mississippi's Tallahatchie River.

18 years later, he died in an accident at home at the age of 29.

33 years after he wrote his note, Brian's bottle was spotted by a salvage diver

named Billy Mitchell. He and his boss were able to reconstruct the note and post a photo of it

on the company's Facebook page. As a result, the dolls were reunited with their son's bottle and

note. Mitchell said,

He's with them still. I think that's what the note meant when we found it, to let his parents

know that he was watching over them as well. My purpose today is not to dispute the theology

of Mitchell's conjecture, but to agree with his sentiment. There is something in us that seeks solidarity with those we love.

When we love someone, we want to be with them. God feels the same way.

Sociologist Peter Berger identified five signals of transcendence.

First, humanity's passion for order, pointing to a designer. Second, our desire for play, mirroring our longing for eternal joy. Third, our innate commitment to hope, refusing to believe that death has the final word. Fourth, our belief in the necessity of damnation for true evil. And the fifth signal

of transcendence that Berger identified, our propensity for laughing at our limitations,

indicating our belief that they will be overcome. I believe our desire to be close to those

we love is another consequence of our creation,

as Genesis 1, 26, and 27 teaches in the image and likeness of our father. The days when my children

and grandchildren are coming to visit are high water days for me. I look forward to them as though

they were Christmas. If enmity rose between us and forced us apart,

I would mourn in the depths of my soul. I have known many parents over the years in this situation

...