Frankly Speaking

Well, once again it’s the season for graduations. Please bear with me as I venture into the more personal realm for moment since this subject is currently so dear to our own family. My daughter, and technically our baby, graduated from college yesterday. That is quite an event and, this being my venue, it seemed only appropriate to dedicate a chapter to her. Our society has many conceptions of the moment when a young person becomes an adult. It may be 13 years old, 16 or 18 or 21 … all depending on what values and life stages you cherish. However, it cannot be denied that the college years offer an important rite of passage into adulthood and the age of final responsibility. What better time, then, to pause and honor a young person for their academic accomplishments and to help launch them into the next chapter of their lives. Certainly it may come as no surprise to my readers that in my own family such an occasion must generally be commemorated with a poem. I hope that even if you don’t know me you may be able to appreciate these sentiments. Perhaps, others may even be able to use these same words to honor someone in their own lives. But for now, I simply need to take this opportunity and say: Cassandra, I am so proud of you and what you have accomplished. These simple words are my testament to you and to how you have touched all of our lives for the better. Congratulations on your big day and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for you. Love always, Dad.

Between the Future and the Past

Dearest daughter, this is quite an occasion

the culmination of twenty-one years

Of hoping and dreaming and planning and praying

of hard work, laughter and tears

This has been the goal and the purpose

of all of your education to date

The moment you tried to focus upon

through all those nights you studied so late

Who could have known on that first day of school

all those seventeen long years ago

When you walked into Eastbluff for kindergarten

that this is how far you would go

From elementary school at Lincoln

and your six years at CDM

From you’re A B C’s to chemistry

this is where you were headed back then

Every chapter of the life you have lived

each careful step along the way

Has helped to shape the young woman you are

and the life you embark upon today

And as you stand at this juncture

on the brink between future and past

You have so many memories to cherish

from your first day of school to the last

Those memories mostly are people

lives you have touched and who’ve touched yours

Whose voices and faces will live in your heart

long after you sail from these shores

Family, instructors and classmates

roommates and sisters and friends

Many you hope that you’ll never forget

to be cherished from now till the end

All of these people, indeed all of us

who have shared this journey of yours

Are so proud of what you’ve accomplished

and how God has opened the doors

To a future you always have dreamed of

which now lies but one step away

Through this gate of knowledge you’ve opened

and shall venture beyond from today

Cassandra, we are so proud of you

of who you are and all you have done

Of how you’ve tempered responsibility

with a joyful heart and unbridled fun

We respect the choices that you have made

the way you’ve matured and grown

The affect you have had upon others

and the faith you have made your own

It’s unlikely that any parents

could feel more pride than we

Or know more joy on such an occasion

in the blessing a daughter can be

You are all that we could have hoped for

as we prayed so diligently

Through this score of years on your behalf

as we strove upon bended knees

We thank God for your beauty and wisdom

for your virtuous loving heart

For your awesome heart of compassion

for the light you have been from the start

Cassie, this is your day and your moment

and the reason we’re all gathered here

Is to honor you on your graduation

accomplished in only four years

Congratulations, Miss Cassandra

and all our best wishes to you

May God’s blessing be ever upon you

And may you succeed in whatever you do

By Frank Carpenter ©

We live in what is generally a world of selfishness and entitlement. This leads us to surround ourselves with creature comforts and items of value which we hope will offer security for the future. We work hard and measure our success, and that of others, in terms of external trappings and material lifestyle. Now here’s where it gets a little uncomfortable. In the long run, those external trappings turn out to be just that … external trappings. They can’t actually make us happier, or help us to live longer, or prevent divorce, or keep our kids from imploding and ruining their lives. In fact, they may even have the opposite effect. Furthermore, I believe that there’s really a God and an afterlife and that this life we’re living now may just be dress rehearsal for something far better. Let’s assume for a moment that I’m right. If that’s the case, then all our possessions are essentially just props on the stage of life. However expensive or opulent, the “stuff” we so habitually surround ourselves with can be considered as so much hotel furniture. Sometimes it can seem quite nice, but the fact remains that we’ll eventually check out and leave it all behind. That certainly puts things in perspective. The more we collect and the tighter we cling to it, the more it affects us and the more it devalues other things in our lives. People are what matters. Heaven is what matters. Stuff … not so much. I’m reminded of the closing scene in a dozen B movies where the bad guy invariably gets dragged over the cliff, out of the plane, or to the bottom of ocean by the weight of the treasure he has strove to possess through the entire plot. Life is like that. The treasure, and often the pursuit thereof, can drag us into the depths and cause us to forsake so many more valuable things in our lives.
In the book of 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” He didn’t say that money was evil, as it is so often misquoted, but only that the love of money can have a negative effect upon us, or be the root thereof. I’m guessing that concept probably applies to all the material things in our lives. Prosperity can be a gift from God, but it may just be meant as a tool to serve Him through serving others. Once it ceases to be a tool and becomes a goal in and of itself, then we have probably deviated from its intended purpose. All of us need to ask ourselves how important our stuff is and who it really belongs to. After all it’s not really ours, but God’s, and I daresay it’s merely on loan for us to steward until such time as we are called to account for it. Once I begin to think of my wealth and possessions as mine I have robbed them of their potentially eternal purpose. At the same time I have wrested them from God’s kingdom and vainly attempted to place them into my own. Then, once I consider myself as an owner rather than a steward, I begin make an endless series of choices that tend to serve me, as the owner, instead of God. Such is the proverbial slippery slope of living in a material world. So this is a reminder to all of us, including my very imperfect self, to try and approach our lives with an eye towards God’s economy so that we can keep Him on the throne He so deserves. For once we can bring ourselves to say “His” instead of “mine,” we have taken an important step towards participation in the kingdom of God. Forever is such a long time that it just makes good sense to invest in it.

Mine
I hold the title to my car, each paycheck bears my name
As does the deed upon our house, you probably feel the same
We all have stuff we call our own, purchased with the funds we earn
But God has shown me lately, that I still have a lot to learn
For I’ve realized that all these things, I clutch so selfishly
Are really not my own at all, they belong to God, not me
Furthermore, they come from Him, these things I thought were mine
He is the source of every blessing, of our talents, wealth and time
And when we clutch them to ourselves, and hoard our precious things
They cease to serve their purpose, or offer blessings they could bring
For everything God sends our way, has purposes divine
So when we squander them for comfort, or waste our precious time
We remove them from the will of God, to pile on a garbage heap
When it could have served the Lord, and help His commandments keep
That which we posses in life, is clearly not our own
But on loan to us for service, to lay before the Master’s throne
Every time we count a blessing, on the debit side, you see
We must also post a credit, as a liability
To share the talents, time and treasure, we have abundantly received
For the greater purpose of the Lord, on whom we have believed
It breaks my heart to transfer title, on all that I suppose was mine
But I hear my Master calling, so I concede and so consign
All the precious stuff I’ve coveted, and worked so hard to own
I lay now upon the altar, as a pledge to God alone
For I know that where my treasure is, there my heart shall also be
And where better to invest it, than in what lasts eternally
By Frank Carpenter ©

Well, we’re right in the midst of that season where our time, money and energies seem to be consumed by everything but the true meaning of Christmas. So I take the liberty of offering the following poem, which is actually a rather true story about one late night in my own parenting past. It was one of those amazing moments when what you know and what you feel suddenly collide with a staggering eternal truth. My prayer for you this season is that you may have a similar experience and that, if only for a moment, all the glitter and commercialism will fade away and the true wonder of that first Christmas comes shining through for you. That’s the moment when all the presents and parties and trees suddenly cease to matter and you come face to face with the Jesus whom God sent to us on that first Christmas day. Merry Christmas to all!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

His Only Son
It was Christmas Eve around midnight
the presents were under the tree
The stockings were stuffed, but
somehow it just didn't feel like Christmas to me
We had read the Christmas story together
before the kids went to bed
But all night I had felt kind of empty
somewhere in my heart or my head
The magic of Christmas was missing
it had faded for me through the years
As tradition became repetition
Until I no longer held Christmas dear
Instead it seemed more of a bother
and an expensive bother at that
Nothing more than an inconvenience
more mess, more bills, more fat
It was late, far too late, I imagined
and the end of a very long day
But I figured I better look in on the kids
before I hit the hay
In my son's room I had a strange feeling
as if something was left out of place
Then I noticed the moon light streaming in
and how it lit up his young face
I thought to myself, "sure, it's Christmas,
there must be sugar plums dancing in there"
I gave him a kiss as I reached down
to brush back a wisp of his hair
Then I knew, in an instant, I saw it
what really happened on Christmas day
As my heart raced back to another child
long ago and far away
To a boy who was sleeping, as mine did
on that very first Christmas night
I saw his peaceful face awash
in the very same moonlight
Then I realized, finally, what God did
and the depth of the terrible price
God paid when He offered His only Son
for us all as a sacrifice
Of course, now I saw it so clearly
in the light of my love for my son
My own flesh and blood, whom I certainly
never would give up for anyone
But that's just what God did with Jesus
he sent Him to suffer and die
God sent Him because of His love for me
as I saw it I started to cry
And me, I was tired of Christmas
but I just didn't know what it meant
I had gotten too busy to notice the Savior
I knew that God had sent
I was filled with the joy and wonder
which eluded me all of these years
Now it was there, I could feel it
as it came flooding in through the tears
There, alone on my knees, in the darkness
I finally understood
That on Christmas God gave the greatest
gift of love that anyone could
By Frank Carpenter ©

I live in southern California, which was so recently ravaged by multiple wild fires. Having experienced that terrible smoke-filled week has given pause to reflect upon what was lost, what was saved, and the plight of so many neighbors and fellow citizens in the midst of disaster and its aftermath. Our hearts go out who those who have suffered loss and pain and I continue to keep them in my prayers. My words can but little console them, but my hope is that, as an extended community, we will see to their immediate needs and offer the support they need to begin again. My own heart was drawn back to the Laguna Beach fire of 1991, which struck closer to my own home, family and friends. At that time, as is so oft the case, I responded with a poem. So I take the liberty of offering those thoughts today. When disaster strikes it often sharpens our emotions and priorities and compresses the time available to consider them. Those are the times when we instinctively make choices regarding the true value of all that surrounds us. On that fateful night, as I rushed out of the house to assist others in greater need, I observed my young children packing their wagon with their most precious possessions. I will never forget that image. The fact is that disaster, even impending disaster, forces us to prioritize and we can’t help but wonder what each of us might pack into our own wagon when the time comes to choose. In the end, however, stuff is merely stuff and only people really matter. As you consider your own wagon load of priorities, I hope and pray that you’ll pause to thank God for what and who you have … and all those things that may not even be worth saving.

Out of the Ashes
When disaster rears its terrible head
and the flood or the fire is near
When there is only time to save a few things
and we race to do so in our fear
Suddenly, all of our values
and the value of what we possess
Are redefined during the crisis
in the light of our plight and distress
Then the treasures that we have hoarded
through the years are left strewn on the floor
Dumped out to make room in the boxes