Not Allowed to Cry…Yet

There is a time to weep, but you must be in control.

Daniel Boone recognized the screams of his daughter. Jemima Boone, thirteen years old, and two other girls were kidnapped by a small group of Shawnee and Cherokee. Daniel Boone started tracking the group barefoot, not taking the time to fetch his mocassins.

The pursuit through the Kentucky wilderness lasted two days before Boone’s party finally reached the missing girls and scattered the Indians. After the first rifle shot, Jemina said, “That’s daddy,” and stood up. One of the other girls pulled her back down underneath a swinging war club wielded by a Shawnee trying to kill them before they were rescued.

Boone wandered into the camp and saw his missing daughter, but there was no time for a reunion yet. He told the girls to stay hidden while he made sure the fleeing kidnappers would not double back.

Only after he felt everything was secure did Daniel Boone fall to his knees and weep. This was the first time Jemima had seen her father cry.

In this story, Daniel Boone displayed the poise required of a man. He is not allowed to become a blubbering mess. He is not allowed to cry just because he is scared. A man doesn’t have the luxury of showing emotion whenever he feels like it.

But there is a time to weep. There is a time to rejoice with boisterous emotion. Part of being a man is gaining the wisdom to know when these times are.