Nancy's Visit to Colorado Springs

Tonight Nancy leaves for Colorado Springs to visit Ched . . . and I'm not going. Nancy asked me this morning if there was anything special I wanted her to tell Ched or give to him. I thought for a moment and said, "Give him a big hug from me and tell him how much I love him."

There is not an ounce of resentment or jealousy in me that Nancy is going to the Springs without me to see Ched. It is just the way our calendars worked and I have other obligations to tend to in the days ahead. I am grateful and glad that Nancy is going . . . but, I do wish I was going with her. Somehow, giving Nancy a hug this morning and asking her to give that hug to Ched just isn't the same as giving him a hug myself. There is something about having your child in your arms, giving them a kiss on the cheek and saying to them personally, "I love you", that makes all the difference in how life itself is ordered.

Maybe that is why Jesus came into our lives. God sent all the prophets ahead of Him to tell the world how much they were loved, to give them a hug, to connect in a 'nearly-present' way, but it just wasn't the same. It's only when Jesus arrives that, at least for the parts of the world ready to receive it, we are given a sense of how much God loves us. Jesus is the embrace of God, the kiss of God, the "I love you" of God, to all who would enter into God's open arms. Jesus makes all the difference in how life itself is ordered.

Nancy and Ched will have a great time together this weekend. There's even a chance Ched will be trying out his new Soaring Instructor Pilot wings on Friday while Mom is watching (weather permitting)! Yet, I know the best part of the visit is not in all the things they will do, it is in the 'being together' in the midst of all the things they do. It is in the hugs, the kisses and the "I love you's", the connections, the touches which make all the difference.

So it should be for all of us, with family, with friends, with God.

A Certified Pilot

Yesterday, driving up to the Cell Phone Lot of the East Terminal at St. Louis International to wait for a friend's arrival, my 'text notification' played (the ESPN theme) letting me know that someone wanted to get in touch with me. Being unusually cautious, I chose not to look at it until I was stopped in the lot . . . and I'm glad that I did.

The text was from our youngest, AFA Cadet 3rd Class Christian Wagner, 'Ched', who is currently on Spring break with his class of Instructor Pilot trainees in Willcox, Arizona, getting in extra flying time in an ideal sailplane setting. Ched's text read:

"I just passed my 'phase check"! Which means you are now talking to the newest certified pilot for the TG-10B sailplane. Now on to instruction!" (which means he is to the final stage of preparation for being an Instructor Pilot in the TG-10B)

While reading his text, two F-15's from the Missouri Air National Guard took off heading East out of Lambert International, rising up off the runway straight across from where I was sitting in my car, then powered quickly into the early afternoon skies leaving the ground shaking in their wake. I texted back to Ched my congratulations, then added, "As if on cue, as I read your text, two F-15's took off here . . . in salute to you, I'm sure." And if the F-15's weren't in salute to Ched, they should have been - at least from this father's vantage point! Ched is doing what I once dreamed of doing: flying. He is experiencing the exhilaration of soaring in the winds of God's Spirit and turning in the currents of God's dynamic creation.

'Proud' is not the appropriate word for what I am felt in that moment. It was something far more tender and powerful, even connected in the essence of awe and humility. As with his brother's before him, if it is even humanly possible, Ched's news made my heart swell with love and wonder. News of a child's accomplishments have a way of doing that to parents, don't they?! And, if so with us as earthly parents, how much more so for God?I'm trying to imagine God doing 'the happy dance' that I do to embarrass our kids when they bring me good news - and, somehow, it's just not happening. Yet, I know in my heart of hearts, God is no less over joyed, no less exuberant when told of things in our lives going well. When was the last time you celebrated a moment with God? When was the last time that God was the first one you wanted to tell when something special happened in your life?

Who knows what might thunder by when you do, but you will never know until you do. God is waiting to hear from you today.

Not Worried

This is Recognition Week at the Air Force Academy, the final 'push' for the 4th Class Cadets (Freshmen) towards being 'Recognized' as full-fledged Cadets in the Wing (or, as some would say, 'having a life again'). It hardly seems a year ago that Ched went through that process, so when I spoke to him yesterday via text and he said he was going to be busy over the weekend with Recognition, I reminded him, "Remember, you once were a Freshmen . . . then do what you have to do . . . with honor." He texted back a 'smiley face' and said, 'Don't worry.'

I'm not worried. The Air Force Academy, like all the service academies, has long-standing traditions which both shape and build the Cadet corps. Those traditions are administered and evaluated by folks much higher ranking than the Cadets, ensuring safety and honor throughout. Still, that 'parent-thing', that radar, that sense of protecting the brood, that little lighthouse guarding the coastline, rings quietly in my heart and soul, "I pray they remember their faith and values, and are always safe in God's hands." Did you ever say such a prayer?

The truth is, I say that prayer about a hundred times a day. I'm not worried, I'm just doing what I believe a parent should do. I'm doing what I know God does, what God expresses to all of humanity in the presence of Christ, 'Remember . . . once you were no people, now you are My people. Remember how I led you up out of slavery, how I walked with you down the Via Dolorosa, how I showed you an empty tomb. Remember, then do what you have to do . . . with honor.' I am not worried, yet this day I pray for the entire Cadet Corps of the Air Force Academy during Recognition Week: that each of them recognizes the One who guards and guides them; that each of them remember the land from which they came; that each of them work with the other to move forward in faith towards the land they are promised; and, that each of them reflect the honor entrusted them, not just in service to Country, but also in who God has created each one to become.

I pray not out of worry, but because of who God is and who I am becoming because of God's nearness. I pray, for there is nothing else I would rather be doing than talking with God as our children mature and find their direction along the way. I pray, for the Holy Parent of us all has taught us so to live and it is my honor so to do each day.

Thank You

Two simple words never carried such meaning and resonated in my heart with such power as when I heard Ched say, "Thank you."

We had traveled to Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy to see Ched advance from 'Basic' to 'Cadet' in rank on Acceptance Day and it was an impressive parade and event. Four thousand Cadets marching across a rain soaked parade field, a U-2 fly over, the Air Force Academy Band playing stirring marches, a legacy class ('74) presentation of 'Contrails' to Outstanding Cadets representing their squadrons and then, of course, the presentation of shoulder boards to the newly 'accepted' Cadets. It was the first time we had been able to be with him since we dropped him off at the St. Louis International Airport on the 23rd of June - and those have been long weeks and days. For two hours we delighted in being with him as, first, the Commandant and Flight Commander of his Squadron attached his boards, then as we walked with him to his room, ate with him at a picnic we provided, and enjoyed the company of his newly-made friends and colleagues. Time seems never to have flown so quickly.

Then, with about 25 minutes to go before he had to report in, he and I carried the few items he could have in his room the half mile, up hill (no kidding), back to the dormitory, while Nancy, Ashley and our friend, Harvey Haynes, cleaned up the remnants of the repast. On the way he and I just talked 'talk', the kind of father/son stuff that only happens when no-one else is around . . . and the kind of which you will never hear in such an article as this, if for no other reason than it is sacred talk, much like the prayers we speak to God. It was a holy moment. Yet, it wasn't in that talk that it happened.

No, it happened as he escorted me back across the Terrazzo, back to the place where he would have to return to his dorm as I would move on towards our car. It happened at the door where our journeys would divide and it caught me so unexpectedly: This strong young man in blue, with newly attached shoulder boards marking endeavor and accomplishment, turned to me and gave me the biggest hug and whispered, "Thank you." He stepped back from me, then embraced me again and said, "I love you. Thank you." Oh my God, what a humbling moment!

With tears running down my face, I mumbled the words of fatherly pride and love that were, at the moment, all that I could manage, even as I told him we would see him in a month at Parent's Weekend, then I turned and headed to the steps before my emotions got the best of me. Pausing for a moment on the steps which would lead me away from him, I watched as he turned and began his walk of the marble pathway back to his dorm, the marble pathway of Doolies, and I quietly answered him through the wind, "Thank you, too, Ched."

Struggling to swallow the rising tide of emotion on the walk back to the car, the words he spoke kept echoing in my mind until, at the gate where visitors are stopped, it struck me like the lightning which had been passing through the region that day, "He is not a boy anymore." In those simple two words Ched was telling me, 'Thank you for getting me this far', 'Thank you for the faith you have placed in me', 'Thank you for your love and support', and, 'Thank you for never, ever just dropping me off anywhere.' But now, 'Thank you' also meant, 'I'm ready to be on my own.'

Oh, I know Ched will still need us for one thing or another (especially to pay the bills for the airline tickets back and forth from Denver on his times of leave), but now I also know he is at a point in his life when he is listening ever more intently to a Greater Voice who leads him on into the future God intends. Ched prays to, and trusts, God. As he held me and told me 'Thank you', he wasn't dismissing me, he was taking his place in God's future for him and owning his responsibility to follow God's call. Ched was acknowledging the love of his father as he endeavors to live into the Love of the Father. Is there anything more a father can ask?

Those two simple words have been rolling around in my heart for the last 48 hours - and I doubt that they will ever leave me, I pray they never do. Thank you, Ched, for being the man you are becoming and for the faithfulness you express in caring the way you do. May the Air Force Academy live into the gratitude you offer in your journey of life and may this father always cling to the power and transformation two words have had in him.

Thank you, Ched. I love you.

Dad

Our Boy in Blue

Saw a picture of Ched in his 'blues' yesterday, his lid squarely set upon his head, the brim of which jutted neatly over his eyes as confidently he led his flight in their march from this place to that. It was an amazing sight and one that nearly took my breath away, especially given that just a week ago we were glued to pictures of he and his battle buddies sloughing through the mud of Jacks Valley with rifles held high. I marvel at their emerging character and in the strength of heart and soul that is visibly defined in the way they carry themselves in the midst of their superior officers. What once was only dimly imagined as they stepped onto the buses of In-Processing now begins to find definition in the portrait of those, such as our boy in blue, marching out into the future God has for them . . . . and my heart swells with pride, even as tears insist on their place at the edges of my eyes.

It is a fine balance, I am finding, between joy in their accomplishments and the ongoing depth of prayer for the challenges still facing them. How closely do we mirror God in God's relationship with all of us in such things? In one moment we step out from behind the walls of our making and, suddenly, God sees us moving forward, smartly echoing the summons of those who have gone before, answering the call on every foot-fall, executing with care the marks of discipleship and finding an ease in rising to God's hope for us in God's plan. Is it in that moment that God audibly gasps with joy? Is it in such moments as these that God's own eyes shed their tears and rejoice in that which is finding color, meaning and hue in the living of each day? Is it here that God whispers God's most meaningful prayer for strength in the days ahead? Is it here that God stands with every parent on the precipice between incredible accomplishment and unforeseeable 'next things'?

I think so. I believe so or, as the scriptures tell us, we wouldn't be created in the image of God. And, to know that God stands with me in watching my boy in blue as he marches into his future in God's hands, that is confidence enough for me to smile broadly in this moment and celebrate with him, trusting his tomorrows to the One who will never let either of us go. Thanks be to God.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

A Father's Prayer

What more might I ask for our son, O Lord,

than that You bless him?

This night, I ask a blessing

that I pray is not too much:

I pray you bless our son

with the Presence and Power of

Your Holy Spirit:

Not that he 'win',

but that he succeeds;

Not that he survives,

but that he thrives;

Not that he memorize,

but that he learns;

Not that he accommodates,

but that he stands strong;

Not that he be above,

but a part;

Not that he alone completes,

but that together

his Flight,

his Squadron,

achieves.

Such is the prayer of one parent,

O Lord,

in the midst of every parent

who this night prays for their Basic,

for every Basic,

who nears the end of

the Second Beast.

Bless these children beyond our ability,

beyond our capacity,

to know what to ask

or how to ask it,

for this night,

this parent,

for every parent,

remembers:

"Ask, and it will be given you;

search, and you will find;

knock, and the door will be opened for you."

And I pray your Spirit

fill the spirits of

all our sons and daughters,

that what is Basic

to the Air Force Academy

is eternal and holy

before You.

For I pray it in the name of the One

Who Is Not Overcome

by any Beast.

Amen.

A Prayer for the Basic Cadets

Holy God, singular Authority above all,

Author of 'the chain of command',

Visionary of freedom,

Spirit of service,

Hear the prayers of your children this day:

We pray for the Basic Cadets of the Air Force Academy

in the midst of their Basic Training.

As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness

and trusted You for every good thing they needed,

may our Basic Cadets find, in every step of their training:

reason to know Your nearness;

strength for every challenge;

food to nourish their bodies;

camaraderie in those around them;

quality leadership in those above them;

a design of program which will build them;

a sense of accomplishment which will urge them;

and a purpose of heart which will keep them.

We pray for them a sense of unity,

a certainty of soul,

a blending of minds,

and a desire to achieve which will mark their class

as faithful to You.

We pray that their generation

will discover in justice, peace,

in mercy, hope,

in equity, life,

in giving, love,

and in serving, freedom.

We pray that the color 'red' which marks their class

will be for them the color of passion,

in pursuing their dreams,

in seeking their gifts,

in serving our country's interests,

and in lives of integrity, truthfulness, and honesty

before You.

And we pray this day, O God,

that the Holy Advocate fill them

with clearness of thought,

decisiveness of action,

tenderness in attention to those less fortunate,

advocacy for those in need,

respect for those who have gone before them,

and a desire to have their journey remembered,

not for what they have done,

but by who they have been

in relationship with You.

We pray these things

in the name of the One who has taught us to pray

in the midst of every trial,

to persevere in the face of every enemy,

and to overcome evil through devotion to You,

Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen.

Consider the Eagle

What is it about eagles that so draw us to them? Is it their size? Their power? Their ability to soar, seemingly suspended in the highest of air currents? Their acute eyesight? Their diving ability? Is it that they are so large? Is it that they are birds of prey, designed to hunt and kill, rather than feed off the scraps of others? Is it that they tend not to flock together? That they hunt singularly and live for the family? That their nests are high above in the most inaccessible places? That their soaring tantalizes the land-bound as they circle nearer the sun? That they live for such a long time? What is it about eagles that so draw us to them?

As I listen to the scriptures and consider what texts to send to our Basic Cadet at the AFA, as I stand with Elijah on the mountain away from the threats below and ponder the blowing of the wind, the shaking of the earth, a great fire and, finally, a great sheer silence and, therein, hear the voice of God saying, "What are you doing here . . . .?", it is there I begin to understand this dichotomy. Land-bound as we are, there is something in our DNA that longs to soar and admires those who do. There is within us a genetic predisposition for flight and an awe in our soul of that which flies . . . . and the eagle, both Biblically and in our current journey, opens the door of our imaginations and invites us towards a new reality.

As strong as the eagle is, its' strength is from the Designer. As high as the eagle may soar, the wind under its' wings is the very breath of God. As high as the eagle may build its' nest, the nest is no higher than the earth the Potter's Hand has shaped. As singular as the eagle may be, it is only in Relationship that young ones may come. As well as an eagle may see, what it sees is what the Maker has set before it. As long as an eagle may live, its' days are no more than what the One who births it assigns. Yet, however limited an eagle may be, still it is the romance of the eagle's life which beckons us to soar . . . and is the prayer we offer in scripture and heart for all our children and, especially in these days, our Basics.

Though land bound, soar on the winds of God. Though challenged, see with the eyes of the Creator. Though days are hard, feel the strength of the Maker in your sinews and bones. Though pushed to become a singular achievement, know the power and potential of Community and the new life it offers. Though you may feel 'out on a limb', remember Who placed the limb there on which you now perch.

Consider the eagle, then live for the Holy One who made it. For both, you and the eagle, are of God's greatest Intention.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

Considering the Source

One of the things that we have always striven to articulate with all three of our boys is this: When you hear something, whatever it is, consider the source and consider where it is that you are hearing it.

For example, there is a huge difference between me saying to one of our sons, "You better shape up!" and their basketball coach saying, "You better shape up!" Yes, the words are the same, but the meaning, context and intent are far different. Were my wife to say to me, "You got the garbage today." and one of my parishioners were to say, "You got the garbage today.", my response would be vastly different to the two.

Scripture says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10.27, which is one verse of a GREAT story! Read it when you have time!) In the following parable which Jesus tells, how the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan all heard the same words was one thing, but how they consider the source, where they were hearing it, and how they were to respond, were vastly different. To help the lawyer who was testing Him to understand that simple lesson, Jesus then asked him a question which required him to take the place of the man beaten and robbed along the road: "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man . . . .?" Plainly stated, which one considered the Source and where it was being said?

In the religious community it is one thing to know the law, even the lawyer knew the law, and quite another thing to perceive the spirit of the Voice who states it. In the parable Jesus tells, the Samaritan got it, even when the representatives of the religious institution were deaf to its meaning and blind to those who most needed them to understand along the road.

In many ways, at least in my mind, the process of Basic Cadet Training in the Air Force Academy is much the same. Words like Integrity, Honesty, Truthfulness, Teamwork, Loyalty, and Responsibility have long been a part of most of the Basic's life journey to this point. Now, in this intense, highly scrutinized, carefully structured environment, each of the Basics will hear those words from a new source, consider where it is they are hearing them, what those words mean for them in the context they are in, and decide how best to faithfully respond.

To you and me, it may seem so easy, a 'no-brainer', the choices apparent. But, to the Basics, the ones who are having to do the hard work of discernment of both, the ones who speak the words and the words themselves, recognizing the heart of the matter beyond the order being given is going to be a learning process. I pray for the Basics that, regardless the ones who are in their faces today shaping them into the leaders our country needs, they will always hear, first and foremost, the Source of the Living Word from which all other words and orders are derived . . . . and that they will always remember that, though people in this life may be in your face, the God of all Creation longs only to always be in your heart and living.

Consider the Source.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

A Smile

The word, 'smile', never appears in a direct translation of the Bible, yet today I have seen the Holy in such an event.

For nearly three weeks, as Nancy and I have been scouring the pictures of the AFA Basic Cadet Training for our son, Ched, we had never seen a picture of him smiling. Truth is, we were beginning to wonder if he had his sense of humor stripped from him or if the cadre of his squadron were so tough he dared not hint of enjoying even a moment. Yet, yesterday, there it was: A smile! A brightness shone through the clouds of difficulty and, if only for that one millisecond, he gave us a gift. The Holy is at work and all is going to be okay. In the Bible or not, a smile reveals the nearness of God and the joy God desires to share with all, thus the gift of Jesus, the song of angels, and the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Ched's smile took me back, though, to the day he was born. All three of our sons were born by cesarean section, with the first two being in a time when father's were not allowed to be with the mother as she gave birth in this manner. Ched, on the other hand, came in a time and hospital when my presence was not only welcomed, but encouraged. I sat next to Nancy as she was given a spinal, held her hand as the doctor's quickly did their work, and then was blessed by the opportunity to hold Ched while still connected by the umbilical cord, eventually being given the scissors to sever that tangible life-link to his mother. Even remembering those moments and sharing them with you brings tears to my eyes . . . and a smile to my face, for one of the first things he did when I held him was to hold onto my little finger and give me a look that (in a father's heart) was my first smile from him.

The smile I saw today took me back to Ched's birthing . . . and the first intimate connection a father can make with their son. Mother's have it the best you know . . . taking nothing away from the hardships of nine months of carrying a child in her womb, the difficulties associated with childbirth, and then the feeding and care connected with those early months of life in this world . . . but, precisely because of the connection a mother can make with a child even as she carries it within her, a mother will forever have that instinctive, intuitive, intimate relationship about which father's can only hope. Yet, as Ched held my finger and gave me that smile that first morning of his life, even as he looked at the camera yesterday and gave me a smile, I saw the Holy Love of God and shook with laughter and joy with the connection he offered me all over again.

Okay, I know the smile wasn't just for me . . . . so allow my heart this illusion, allow this father this connection, and allow yourself to remember just when it was that first you saw the Holy in your child . . . . then returned the smile in love.

Thanks for the smile, Ched, which is your life touching mine and causing my soul to rejoice. Across the miles I can still feel your tiny fingers still clutching mine, and I pray you can still hear me whisper in your ear, "I love you."

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

Learning From 'That First Call'

Last Saturday we received our first call:

Ched called home from the Air Force Academy.

Field Day and Doolie Day In provided for a couple of hours in the afternoon when Basics are allowed free time (a precious commodity for Basics) to place telephone calls home. Though I cannot tell you the exact hour and minute I received his first text message (Okay, it was 2:11.37 CST!), with the words, "I will be calling in a few minutes", I can tell you what I did: I jumped up and down, calling to my wife, Nancy, "Get ready! He just texted that he's going to call in a few minutes!"

We laid my cell phone, Nancy's cell phone and our land line phone all on the family room table and waited, not knowing which phone he might choose to call home on . . . and waited . . . and waited. About ten minutes later, Nancy got up and said, "Well, it's clear that Ched's not a parent yet. He doesn't understand what saying " . . . a few minutes . . ." means to a parent. But, someday he will." Then, a few minutes later, Ched called.

What was shared in those minutes brought laughter and tears, joy and assurance, peace and challenges yet, more than all of that, what we treasured more than anything else was just the sound of his voice. Ah, the sound of our son's voice!

And, isn't that what God desires most from all of God's children? Just to hear the sound of their voices? Isn't that the message of Jesus in announcing the nearness of the Kingdom, 'God's ear has come near to hear you!'?

Maybe it has been a long time since last you talked with God. Maybe you have been 'away' and just weren't sure how to get back in touch. Maybe you thought that, since God seemed so far away, God didn't care. Maybe you felt hurt that something for which you asked didn't happen just the way you wanted. Maybe there have been so many other things piled on your schedule that taking even a few brief moments of free time to talk with God seemed like too huge a price to pay out of your personal time and rest. Maybe there has been no really good reason you haven't called, but you haven't. Still, now I know, the best gift any child can give to their parent is to give them a call and let them hear the sound of your voice.

If it is so among we who are, " . . . created in the image of God . . .", how much more is it so for the One who is God, Holy Parent of all there are?

After the call was finished, it took several minutes before I could even speak an intelligible, coherent sentence, so happy was my heart, so elated my soul. Little had I imagined how the sound of our son's voice would bless my life in those moments, little had I understood how dearly I missed hearing him every day.

I think I am going to take a few extra moments today to talk with God and thank God for the home of the Spirit which continues to shape my journey and for the love that God shows for me. Then, I am going to call my Dad and thank him for being such a good parent to me and ask his pardon for the all the days I haven't called just to check in. Funny how that works . . . without knowing it, with only a phone call, our son has given me a gift in understanding and wisdom that only experience can teach. It is a lesson I pray I never forget.

Who are you calling today?

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

Looking Through Pictures

For the past couple of weeks, Nancy and I have spent hours of our evenings looking through pictures. With Ched attending the Air Force Academy, we have become aware of the gift that the Association of Graduates provides through the expertise and eye of 'Web Guy', affording parents of Basics the opportunity to browse through thousands of photographs (and many videos) seeking that 'classic pose of a Basic' which tells us that our son or daughter is 'alright' and meeting the rigors of the day in BCT.

With the 'First Beast' complete and the 'Second Beast' just beginning, I found myself at the computer this afternoon perusing the pages of photos hoping to see that one which opens his day and challenges to me at home. Then, while changing the pages, it occurred to me: We are so created in the image of God! And parents are so the expression of God at work in Christ!

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel:

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, Your Savior."

Isaiah 43:1-3

Is not the very gift of Jesus Christ and the very Presence of the Holy Spirit God's own way of telling creation and every parent, "I am walking with you through the valley" (contemporized as 'BCT')? Does not Jesus Himself remind us of that fact when he talks about the sparrow? God watches as a mother watches her children, as a hen tends to her brood (thus Jesus' lament over Jerusalem), and as a father pauses to see what the child will do. God ponders our choices, allowing the freedom to choose, observing the journey without hindering, chiding without overpowering, soothing without smothering. God teaches both parent and child of relationship and love, of grace and mercy, of discipline and tenacity, with Christ being the powerful and profound articulation, once and for all time that, "You are never outside or beyond My Presence!"

I am grateful to the AOG and Web Guy for the glimpses of life in BCT, however fleeting and few those visions may be but, more than that, I am in awe of the God who allows simple folks like you and me to share in God's care for all of creation. In such care, God summons our hearts and faith to participate in the tending and teamwork our global family requires, while urging on our children as we watch them become the leaders of the next generation God has called them to be.

Another day, another lesson, and it is good.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

As Ched Leaves for the AFA

"God doesn't come and go. God lasts. God is Creator of all you can see or imagine. God doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch God's breath. And God knows everything, inside and out. God energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, your folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings ans soar like eagles. They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind." (Isaiah 40:28b-31 The Message Bible)

Ched leaves on Wednesday. He has earned an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy and flies out from St. Louis to Colorado Springs, Colorado to begin Basic Cadet Training (BCT or 'Beast', as it is affectionately known) on Thursday. The Air Force Academy is a Division I University, boasting one of the highest levels of education available in the nation and training some of the brightest and best in our country to become Air Force Officers, a leadership core for the national defense. Ched will have access to some of the keenest minds on earth, to some of the best equipment in the world, and will participate in the kinds of training about which most of us could only dream. So, why is this lump building in my throat? Why do my eyes seem to incessantly tear-up at the slightest provocation? Why is it hard even to type these words when my heart and soul feels only such pride and wonder in whom it is that he is becoming?

I have jokingly suggested that, as a result of Ched departing our home, my greatest fear and newest avocation will be figuring out to whom it is that I have been married and living with these last 34 years, since most of that time her most common persona has been 'Mom' to our three sons. Is it the dreaded 'Empty Nest Syndrome' which is troubling me? Or, could it be deeper? Could it be that, once Ched is out and on his own and Nancy and I are at home alone together, I will no longer have anyone else upon which to blame my 'not hearing her voice' or 'not heeding her helpful directions'? Could it be that my deeper self is trembling at the notion of having to get to know myself, while blessed with having all of Nancy's loving attention focused on how I can now become the person she has always hoped I would be?

In the milieu of ponderings, Ched's oldest brother, Matthew, observes that it is a shame Nancy and I only had three sons, since each one has gotten progressively more intelligent and heaven only knows how wise our sixth or seventh children might have been. Ched's next older brother, Raymond, touches on the fact that Ched has been the blessed recipient of 'inherited wisdom' from both Matt and Ray, since Ched is very adept at seeing the problems others have had and learning from them. Truth is, both Matt and Ray are right: Ched, being eight years younger than Ray and twelve years younger than Matt, has learned volumes from them both, and the bottom line of what they have taught him is this: to be true to the gifts God has placed in him, to value family and community over all the other things which can be bought and sold, to surround yourself with people who are friends and who share common values, and to never stop pursuing your dreams.

Ched has learned well from his older brothers and, therein, is the emotion with which I am wrestling: The last of 'our boys' will be out of our home and on his own. The very thing we have striven as parents to prepare him for is that which causes the deepest distress in a father's heart: Flight. As ironic as it may seem, all three of our boys earned the rank of Eagle Scout because they avidly and tenaciously pursued it, and now the last eagle is leaving the nest for the United States Air Force and, though I know he will soar powerfully and well, I know, too, his flight will take him away from the reach of my arms and I can only stand with this mother on the side of the nest watching him soar, praying him safety and care. So, the ponderings and tears of this parent fall upon the Table of the Lord in prayer, praying both for that which my head understands and for that which my heart trembles to consider.

I pray that Ched continues to learn from his brothers, both of whom are carrying the lessons they have have shared with him over the years into the homes which they are establishing with their wives and children in God's care. Beyond the knowledge and skills Ched will attain in the next four years, I pray him wisdom to fly on the currents which lift him the closest to the One whose breath is the Wind itself. I pray him strength to be faithful to God and gentleness in serving Christ and his fellow human-beings. I pray him courage to trust God's Holy Spirit in trial and a generosity of spirit in offering leadership to others whose journey becomes part of his own. I pray him a greater capacity to love than I could ever express and a deeper conviction for justice and mercy in the stands he must take. I pray he never forgets where home is, while maintaining a sense of adventure in seeking God's direction for his life wherever that may take him. I pray that, in every circumstance, Ched will take his cue from Jesus Himself who always seemed to know when to take time away just to be alone with God - away from all the other voices of this world - and trusted the outcome of His immersion in this world to the Power of the One who births all there is.

Finally, I pray that this parent's pride, ponderings, joy and tears for his son, shed upon Christ's Table of sacrifice and victory, reflect the devotion and faithfulness of the Holy Parent whose tears of pride and joy caused angels to sing over Bethlehem and women to shout out in wonder before an empty tomb in Jerusalem. For it is, I believe, those 'in-between times', those times between a stable and the rush of a mighty Wind, those times between uncontrollable laughter and the lump of pride and love in the throat, those times between absolute wonder and outrageous awe, that most challenged the heart of our Parent God. Yet, was it not precisely for such times that God instructed Isaiah to speak these words to people like you and me, parents whose children are about to take flight as God's Israelite children took flight?

"But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles. They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind."

Wait upon God, Ched, wait upon God. Don't let a movement of your wings be taken without the Spirit of God to carry you. Soar beyond this parent's wonder into the joy for which God has intended you from the beginning and know that our love goes with you, as a family's love and touch always does, from age to age, beyond the bounds of geography to the places you are meant to be. Soar like an eagle in the care which only God can provide and know that our hearts fly with you.

Think Clearly. Act Decisively.

Live Faithfully.

'God Lasts.'

In the love of the Holy Parent,

Dad