Anchors Aweigh

I have had the great honor and pleasure of participating in the lives of many fine young men and it’s always interesting to observe as they choose their path through life and embark upon it. Those feelings are especially poignant today, as two young friends depart to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. They are heading off to pursue their higher education, but they have also chosen a lofty and more difficult path as well. Rather than just heading off to college, they will begin with an exhausting summer of boot camp and indoctrination. They will receive one of the finest educations available and then they will be obligated to five years of service as naval officers. It’s a great education, but it’s certainly not a free education. However, I deeply respect their commitment and patriotism. It’s no surprise that these fine young men were both Eagle Scouts and come from strong, religious, conservative and supportive families. I am sure that I will have more to write about them later, but today we just want to wish them good luck, best wishes and farewell! So to Jon and Brandon, I join your families and friends in offering a prayerful, respectful and hearty “Anchors Aweigh!”

Anchors Aweigh
Dear brave young man we have known you
As your family and your friends
Since the commencement of your childhood
Where each man’s story must begin
We have watched with satisfaction
As you grew in every way
To the very brink of manhood
At this, your own induction day
You’ve flourished as a scholar, as an athlete
A brother, friend and son
And as an ambassador for Jesus
Yet those years formative are done
We have known from the beginning
That you were wrought of sterner stuff
That the well-trod path so many choose
Might not prove challenging enough
Indeed, as long as we remember
You have strived for something more
As visions of a different calling
Beckoned from a distant shore
You set your sights upon that calling
The one so few men know or see
Forwarding your application
To the US Naval Academy
And that lofty institution
Which accepts so very few
Promptly returned the compliment
By their acceptance of you
So now we stand together
We who know and love you so
At this juncture on your path through life
As you prepare to go
Behind lie all things familiar
With eighteen years of memories
While the course ahead must surely lead
Through as yet uncharted seas
Yet we trust the firm foundation
You have laid in life thus far
Shall serve to keep you on an even keel
When life’s tempests test your spars
And remember, as you travel
From youth, family and your home
That wherever life may lead you
You shall never be alone
For our hopes and dreams and fervent prayers
Will ever go with you
As will the guiding hand of God
Regardless what you choose to do
So as you loose your mooring lines
And toss them on the quay
Unfurling your new set of sails
As on the sheet you heave away
Look back upon us fondly
For as such will be our gaze
Then turn to sail courageously
From these protected bays
You were born to face the challenges
Reserved for but the best
Still we know that you are up to task
And ready for the test
We honor the achievements
Of your past high school career
Yet they are just the launching point
Of where you’ll go from here
And we can scarce imagine
Where the coming years may lead
But there is little doubt that they
Shall be remarkable indeed
So give your life and service
Everything you have to give
Young man, we are all so proud of you!
May God bless each day you live!
By Frank Carpenter ©

Fathers Day

Well, here we are on Fathers Day. Like most holidays on the calendar, this one is set aside to honor a particular group of important people which I have the great honor and pleasure to count myself among. My own children are far away and, since it was a busy morning just getting out the door to church, I didn’t give much thought to the occasion until the Fathers Day service began. Once it got under way, however, the full spectrum of emotions began to descend upon me. First of all, I was suddenly missing my own grown children and feeling nostalgic about past Fathers Days with little kids around to add their special magic. Those thoughts were heightened by the fact that just yesterday we were cleaning out old boxes in the garage and I had stumbled upon old Fathers Day art they had created in Kindergarten and First Grade. It’s tough to top those kinds of memories. This day is also somewhat somber because it reminds me of my own father, who passed away at the end of 2003. I don’t think about him every day, but there are certain days like this one which can be quite difficult for me. This is especially true because we had a very rich and long standing Fathers Day tradition with another family at an amazing estate up in the hills. That tradition continued for the last few years, even after his passing, but it was discontinued this year. Even when I was young, my dad wasn’t always around that much and during his later years he often lived far away. However, he usually came into town for Fathers Day, which I believe was more important to him even than Christmas. Now I find that losing him, along with our recently discontinued celebration, leave an enormous hole in this day for me. All that being said, I have also been blessed with the most amazing step-dad in history. He came into my life at exactly the right moment and filled all the gaps in my own father’s shortcomings during the formative years of my youth. I’m clearly and unabashedly opposed to divorce and I know that it causes significant emotional damage to a great many children. Somehow, however, God brought me through all that unscathed and gave me the perfect second dad. My real father was the distant and stern disciplinarian, the classic mythical father of that generation, but he didn’t excel at passing on all of the day to day lessons of life. My step-father, on the other hand, turned out to be the expert in that area. He is the shining example of love and devotion who was at the dinner table every night and participated in every imaginable and inconvenient activity we could dream up to test him with. And in that sense, he is just as much my dad. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned from him for my own parenting is that fathers are made of blood, but dads are made of love. While this day is poignant in its sorrow for me personally, because of my loss, there is also great consolation in the fact that I have been twice blessed with fathers. Most men cannot claim to have found such good fortune. Now I realize many folks may read this who come from homes with painful memories and may not even feel as though they were blessed with one good father. There is, however, ample opportunity to celebrate other relationships around us. We’ve all had mentors and other family members who have participated in fatherly roles. We can also honor wonderful fathers in our extended families and acquaintances, as well as being good fathers ourselves. Even if we didn’t receive an honorable legacy in this area, we do have the opportunity to pass one on to our own children. That is the choice all of us can make. In conclusion, I must simply wish a happy Fathers Day to all of you and encourage you to show appreciation to the men in your life who are so deserving of it. All the best to you! God bless and farewell for now.

Gentleness

Of all the virtues, perhaps the least considered is that of gentleness. Nor do you find it praised much in the news or popular media for these are venues reserved primarily for the loud and the proud. Indeed gentleness, by its very nature, does little to call attention to itself. It is usually focused upon others and, therefore, may often be overlooked entirely. However, I have known some amazing men and women who exuded the virtue of gentleness, usually wearing it with grace and dignity. For there is a strength in gentleness which the world often overlooks. It isn’t the thundering strength of war machines or the redundant prattling of a noisy media. Rather it is the kind of quiet strength which patiently shapes the world. Just as solid rocks are slowly broken by the wind and rain and the roots of tiny plants, so gentleness works its way in world … one heart at a time. The rash, the mighty, the selfish; these are the ones who seem to rule the world. However, even though they may conquer and control the world they can never truly win it over. For the world to be truly changed it must be won over, heart and mind. Herein lies the strength of gentleness for it makes the world want to change itself. That is true power, but it can only be wielded by the virtuous, the patient, the loving and the kind. For gentleness, like humility, must well up from within and, likewise, instantly evaporates once self-proclaimed. So take a step back. Calm your spirit and try the higher path of gentleness. You will be amazed at what it can accomplish … and the world might just end up a better place because of it.

Gentleness
There is a strength in gentleness
Not often understood
But the power of a gentle hand
Can do the greatest good
One should never underestimate
The kind and gentle man
Who can change with love and patience
What the cruel one never can
Many a bloody victory
Was won by the iron fist
But victory over the will means naught
If the heart and mind resist
It is only the kind and gentle man
Who wins the heart as well
In the end his love and patience prevail
Thus many a tyrant fell
Brute strength and anger drive away
The real person inside
But the gentle man is a confidant
In whom others seek to confide
His willingness to listen
Also gives him the right to speak
His words are not the words of pride
And are heeded because they are meek
Politics and history
Belong to the selfish and strong
Who love the limelight and the power
And the masses follow along
But down at the root of humanity
Are the real heroes of life
Who change the world one heart at a time
Bringing comfort through trial and strife
Who heal and help and sacrifice
On the front line every day
They make the world a better place
To live and work and play
For it is the kind and gentle man
Who accepts with arms flung wide
The ones who chance to cross his path
Without the prejudice of pride
His contribution might seem small
To those who don't understand
But he is the salt of a hurting world ...
And the instrument of God's hand
By Frank Carpenter ©