On Saturday, my oldest daughter graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of West Georgia.  When ceremonies concluded, she gave me a quaint little hug and smile.  Then she and her mom grabbed one another with with a marathon hug and wept profusely.  And I was thinking- Hey, how about a little more of that for me?

I'm recognizing in my daughter a person of strength and special character.  Her final Semester consisted of 21 credit hours of upper-level classes, and she made straight A's!  I have a College degree, but I struggled to make decent grades in PE and Basket Weaving.  This girl worked hard with her studies.  Such never came easy, but she exhibited a tenacity and determination to succeed that made me doubly proud.  In College she faced her doubts and challenges with a characteristic refusal to give in.

So, indulge me as I tell a little more about my daughter who is also a hero of mine.  She is a pretty girl.  But she is not too full of herself.  And friends mean the world to her.  She is very good at being a friend, and people who connect with her tend to stay connected.  As I visited with them at her apartment, I found them all to be characteristically nice and genuine, easy with talk and sincere about life.  Just like my daughter.  And as I watched the special day unfold, it crystallized that she is so far ahead of me at the same stage of life.  I was a bit more cocky and had matters more planned out.  But she treats others with such great respect.  She values people, and they know it.  And that is why so many good people are drawn to her.  Me?  I am just now entering into some resemblance of maturity in how to truly value others and treat them with respect. 

Krystal is not as religious and myself.  At her age I was quite connected with church and being Baptist.  Her church involvement has, at best, been sporadic through College.  But that does not much bother me.  Why?  I recognize spiritual maturity that is moving along at a fine pace.  She believes.  And, she is a person of prayer.  I have not doubt that the outward elements of religion, which I do consider to be important, will come along according to God's timing.



I want to thank Krystal's mom and my wife, Debbie.  She is an unassuming and gentle person, which greatly admire in her.  And Krystal is the product of her amazing job as a mother.  I think my kids have but little idea how blessed they are to be connected to this woman.  Constantly she works, sacrifices, and even does a bit of scheming and manipulating for their benefit.  Often I am dragged along with the latest effort, with agreement but not nearly the energy of my spouse.  She is Krystal's best friend.  And my daughter, no longer a girl but now a full-fledged woman, will continue to grow in personal respect and outward reflection of her amazing mother.

The Graduation itself was a rather simple ceremony.  Most of her friends, who started College at the same time as she, were observers because they still have a year to go.  The President of the school is of Lebanese lineage, and proved to be an interesting personality.  The speaker was a trial lawyer.  He did something likely to be uncharacteristic of his profession- he made a promise, to keep it short and to-the-point- and kept his word.  Good for him.

Here is my favorite picture:

My teenage daughter thinks that surely I am the most stupid person upon this earth, even surpassing the legendary dimwit status of her dad. 

Her list of my imperfections is huge.  I...
*...have no discernment of personality, repeatedly misjudging the quality of her friends
*...am an expert at hindering the pursuit of a good time
*...have the irritating insistence of forcing my morals and religion down her throat
*...repeatedly compel her to hang out with our boring family

As soon as she is able, she will move from this hell-hole.  This has been her promise several times.  And should she ever dare to have children, they will be raised with a higher degree of wisdom which will include much greater degrees of freedom and fun.  Add to these character deficits the inarguable facts that I am boring, old-fashioned, un-cool, and severely lacking in mental facilities.  I go by the name of Mom, most often anything but a term of endearment.

I simply sigh, and trudge on, without fanfare.  It was not so long ago that I was remarkably like her- brash, opinionated, mouthy, and very sure that I could do a better job.  My mom never wore the latest of fashion, and always drove an old car.  And she and dad were hopelessly embarrassing.

My daughter, I love you, but sometimes I just do not like you.  I think this may be the one thing we have in common at this stage of life.  And I am determined to make it through this challenge.  You are a great teen, as much as there could possible exist such a creature.  And one day you will be a fine woman.  Then we will be friends.  But, alas, right now my job involves a more important task than to be your pal. 

I wish you could work with me as we travel down this untested road.  I’ve been there, and I know how tough and dangerous and unpredictable it can be.  Remember, but a few years ago, I was You.

*Your latest stinging assault of words hit the heart more than I pretended.
*It bothers me more than you think that I cannot, or will not, enable you to keep up with the material appearances of your more progressive and popular friends/peers.
*I would treasure a simple and sincere conversation, over a cup of coffee or a coke.

This is a tough job and you are not aware of how uncomfortable I find myself.  For many reasons you are a great challenge.  Perhaps genetics and surely environment converge to make you my particular parenting enigma.  Even more so, I have my own issues.  Life has not always treated me so gently.  And I would surely like to be a more perfect Mom.  It is not happening, but I continue to try.

Here I am.  I’m Mom.  I know that sometimes I disappoint you.  I understand it quite well.  But here is the most important thing- something you can always count upon, and you have heard it ten thousand times. 
When you bumped your toe and skinned your knee…
When you awakened from a bad dream to crawl into my bed… 
When you simply found yourself crying for no apparent reason… 
When your first boyfriend no longer seemed to care… 
When it seemed no one else understood, or cared…

I’m your Mom.  
I love you.

It has been my policy, from the beginning, to not use designated clergy parking.  Often the hospitals provide nice, convenient spaces close to the entrance with big “Reserved For Clergy” signs.  It is a nice gesture on the part of the business, but just seems to me unnecessary.  Besides, we have too many fat and out-of-shape preachers who need to park in the far away parking lots and walk to their destinations, and avoid the elevators along the way.  And I feel the same about all the spots in the hospital parking decks designated for physicians.  Even when the deck is full, there will often be a dozen or more unused physician spaces.  As I drive to the top to find a place to park, it occurs to me that of all people, a doctor would surely see the value of a little extra walking.  But this is my own little campaign, and I do not expect you to join or even understand.

Recently I pulled into the back of a parking lot, and proceeded to walk toward the entrance.  Near the front a lady pulled her Cadillac into a clergy spot.  Emblazoned upon the side and bumper was Mary Kay.  I met her as she was getting out, and cheerily asked, “What church do you pastor?”  She did not reply that she was Assistant Minister at the Church Of The Mary Kay.  Instead, she said she could not find a parking space and was forced to park up front.  I told her that I understood, that I was a minister and that I unfairly took her space in the back of the parking lot.  She was not amused.

If  you would like to help in the campaign to replace all clergy parking signs with pink signs proclaiming “Reserved For Blue-Eyed Emus & Mary Kay”, then send me a t-Mail.  Surely it would be a tax-deductible cause?

Skylar and I picked strawberries today.  It was a long drive out into the country, and usually I can count on her to fall asleep while in the car, but this time she kept chattering with excitement about the upcoming activity.  It is a huge and beautiful field, and many of us fear that the encroaching suburbs will one day replace it with cookie-cutter houses and streets with cute little strawberry names.  And that would be a shame, because grandpa's and little girls would lose out on a special time.

And, so we picked strawberries.  Let me be honest- I gathered strawberries into the bucket - she managed to take at least one bite out of every fruit she picked.  In conclusion, she had red juice running from head to toe, with the majority around her face.  I told the guy at the pay station that it only appears that she has eaten some of their produce.  He simply laughed.  And with that I understand the owners are good people who would rather plant strawberries for little girls to pick than to build condos.  Thank God for such people.

We brought home two gallons.  And soon I had a stomach ache.  How can you have an aching belly and still have a smile upon your face?

May 1 is the annual National Day Of Prayer.  My church, like many, is committed to interceding for the needs of our great and troubled nation on this day.  We have conducted this occasion in many ways in the past, including organized assemblies and detailed prayer lists.  This time we have simply encouraged one another to set aside significant time(s) to pray, and left the details up to the individuals.  Such is in line with “the priesthood of the believer”, a significant doctrine of our church.

Last night at our Midweek Prayer Service, I asked the small group who was gathered to put together a list of some specific ways to pray for our nation.  Here’s the list:

(1) Wars in Afghanistan & Iraq
(2) Churches
(3) Political Representatives – federal, state, local
(4) Firemen & Policemen
(5) Economy
(6) Families
(7) Those In Positions Of Authority
(8) Those Losing Homes & Jobs
(9) The Elderly
(10) Wisdom & Discernment Of The People
(11) For The Department Of Transportation to do something about the dangerous condition of Davenport Road

Some thoughts about the list:

*No one is suggesting we pray for victory in these wars- such would be rather presumptive.  Our church members, as I think are most Americans, are quite weary of this war and saddened more than angered by the mounting death tolls.  We are praying for an end to war.

*Our Wednesday night group is mainly older people, I think because the younger members are either working in other areas of the church at the moment, or in the middle of a busy week of work and activity and think they cannot spare the time for midweek church.  That is too bad, because in my opinion, when you are too busy to pray then you are too busy.  Anyhow, several of these older members are Yellow-Dog-Democrats.  Still, they find it important to pray regularly for our Republican Administration, Governor, Senators, Congressman, etc.  Indeed, prayer transcends politics.

*#11 is interesting.  I try diligently to encourage our people to move beyond seeing intercessory prayer as basically a time to pray for the sick!  So I make a habit every meeting to ask for requests for other matters.  And this time I was specifically requesting prayers for our country.  So when the lady voiced her request, at first I was stunned into a moment of silence.   It just came out of left field, not germane to the current issue.  It is an important matter- her driveway empties onto a semi-blind curve, so for her safety something needs to be done.  But it seems an example for all of how difficult we find it to move beyond ourselves and our own immediate needs when we pray.

NDP 2008 – from the Florida Prayer Network, a detailed and helpful prayer guide.  I notice at least one mistake in their list of federal leaders- can you find it?
Lady G has a fine post on this subject.

Ultimately, like most things that are important, prayer needs to be something we do.  Those of us in churches are sometimes more involved with planning and studying than the actual doing. 
Prayer- Just Do It!

05.01.08 (11:10 am)   [edit]

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