A decade-long search has paid off; The Time Has Come to Walk

The Missing Have Been Found
A decade-long search has paid off
 The missing girls at last are found.A ten-year search struck gold.The love for those considered lostburned strong though clues grew cold. “We can’t give up! We must persist.There’s just too much at stake.”And in their words you hear their heartsthat beat and nearly break. When one so loved seems gone for good,God models what to do.He will not leave a stone unturned,but searches till He’s through. And so the Shepherd left the fold*in search of those deemed lost.He would not quit but risked his lifeno matter what the cost. The Lord be praised for answered prayer.
The missing have come home.
But still the Shepherd seeks to find
those lost who hide alone. 
* Luke 15:1-7 

The Time Has Come to Walk
Reflections on a daughter’s graduation from college*

It seems like only yesterday
I watched my little girl at play
amazed at her abilities
and dazzled by her charm.

In no time she was college-bound
convinced her school was holy ground
and from a distance I could see
she’d made the perfect choice.

Those halls of learning watched her reach
to grasp the truths of those who teach.
But now the time has come to walk
all clad in cap and gown.

And as I stand up to applaud,
I’ll cheer with pride and praise to God
for guiding one so loved so far
toward this milestone. 

* This poem is dedicated to Lauren Star Asimakoupoulos who graduates this Sunday from Wheaton College Conservatory of Music with a degree in flute performance.

Putting Jason Collins’ “coming out” in perspective

The first pro athlete “came out”
announcing he is gay.
His fans cannot contain their pent up praise.
It seems that Jason Collins
is a poster boy of sorts
for the shift in thinking taking place these days.

The center of this whole ball game
now dwarfs what we’ve long held
that homosexuality is wrong.
Fast-forward to the present
where what’s guarded is the fact
that it doesn’t matter which team you are on.

No, it doesn’t take a wizard
to reveal what’s going on
in a culture that has come under some spell.
Being gay is celebrated
as a privileged way of life,
but the outcome of such thinking time will tell.

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/29/jason-collins-comes-out-gay_n_3178401.html

The question is do you?

Do I have the right to bear arms?
That’s the question in the news.
Every day it seems to trigger much debate.
But the arms of which you’re thinking
aren’t the ones I have in mind.
Please don’t judge me prematurely. Just you wait.

For I have the right to bear arms.
After all, it’s in my genes.
My father was quite hairy like his dad.
Their arms and legs were bushy
like a grizzly in the wild.
It’s a simple fact of life not good or bad.

And I have the right to eagle eyes.
It is just the way I see
as I focus on the things most people miss.
I’m aware of countless details
to which many friends are blind
as when closing both their eyes each time they kiss.

And I have the right to pigeon toes.
They may be for the birds,
but it’s just the way they point each time I walk.
With my right foot pointing leftward
and my left one pointing right,
it’s no wonder other people like to talk.