Jessica Savitch was the first woman to attain the status of a national news anchor. The story of her tortured life was revealed some years ago in the made-for-television movie Almost Golden. Jessica was a gregarious little girl who adored her father, who had always affirmed her. She basked in the light of his blessing until kidney disease took her father from her. From this loss, she never fully recovered. A high school sweetheart introduced her to broadcasting and eventually she co-hosted a musical show for teens; this brought her into the spotlight, where she received the recognition she so desperately sought. She set her goal to become a national news anchorwoman by the age of thirty, a goal in which she eminently succeeded. Yet, the faster she ran, the more she achieved, the more tortured and insecure her life became. Jessica had several failed relationships with men. She was beaten by her lover and one of her husbands committed suicide. She got hooked on booze and cocaine. Her career collapsed suddenly, like a house made of playing cards, when she did her newscast stoned and was fired. Jessica finally surmounted her drug problem and seemed to be getting back on track when the car she was riding in overturned into a Pennsylvania canal on a dark and rainy night.

Jessica Savitch exemplifies the thousands who are driven by the profound need to receive a blessing from their father, mother or other significant person in their life. No matter how high she soared, it was never high enough. How tragic and driven life can be when we fail to realize the blessing of our Father in heaven. That blessing calms our anxious hearts with the assurance that we are accepted just as we are.