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.

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