Wandering Off

Wandering Off

It may be odd to begin a book with a speech, but nevertheless that is what I have done. I was blessed to deliver the commencement address at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia, on May 5, 2017. That address outlined much of where I am at spiritually and politically in this season of life. Shorter is a Baptist institution and there were some concerns in my family with the content of my address. I am not known for political correctness or adherence to convention. After much soul searching, here is the final result. I was not excommunicated. I did experience a mishap that morning though. Stopping for breakfast, I spilled coffee creamer all over my suit. It was a mess. There was no time to change or find a dry cleaner, so off I went, stains and all. I guess that fits all of us. Off we go, stains and all.

***

President Dowless, elected officials, distinguished faculty, alumni, graduates, parents, and family, it is one of the great honors of my life to stand before you today. As I collected my thoughts, my family was very adamant that I should be positive and encouraging. I will endeavor to do so, but first I must make some confessions about myself.

I am a storyteller. I can be very emotional. I believe in and love the Lord. And I believe that this graduating class and their cohorts will change this world and this nation, not in negative manner but by implementing reforms and changes that are long overdue. Graduates, regardless of what is going on in this world, it has gone on before, and we are still here this morning. There is but one author of our future, and He is quite a writer.

One other thing about me though—I have been known to wander off on occasion. I started early too. My first episode reportedly occurred when I was two years old during our first family vacation. As the only child of young parents who bravely ventured to Savannah, Georgia, in an era before interstates, I celebrated my newfound mobility by wandering off somewhere near the Atlantic Ocean. I confess no memory of the episode, but I can imagine my parents thinking the worst and hoping for the best. I am pleased to report that they found me.

My wandering off continued as a preteen when I would take to the woods hunting, exploring, and generally wondering what was over the next hill. While on school field trips, I would often leave my classmates to observe people and happenings. Back in the day, it was considered educational for our elementary classes to attend the now long-defunct Southeastern Fair. Located at the Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta, Georgia, I can imagine the angst of any teacher carrying forty children to a location with incalculable distractions. On one such field trip, I took advantage of the simulated parachute jump along with a fascinating observation of hogs and cattle on display by 4-H Club members. I did join classmates for a few rides just to impress the girls. Burned into my memory though are the smells and sights of the midway—onions cooking on griddles, the alluring fragrance of fresh cotton candy, incessant noise of the barkers hawking views of the monkey boy or bearded lady, not to mention places where gawking boys were sure to get in trouble.

During my high school years, I was known to wander off campus for quick runs to the Dairy Queen. These trips could have caused immense difficulty if I had been caught, because my mom worked for the school system. My transgressions were quickly communicated to her with the reassuring comment that I was just being a boy. During those same years and while my parents and an aunt and uncle enjoyed a Caribbean cruise, I wandered off first to the local drag strip to test my uncle’s car. There is a dusty trophy in my home office that was difficult to explain to my children as they began driving. Immediately following the drag strip episode, a few friends joined me during school hours for a tour of downtown Atlanta. There we visited almost every car dealership we could find—window-shopping for the perfect car we would someday own. Our tastes ranged from Ferraris to Firebirds. I have never owned either. At the time, I had never driven in downtown Atlanta, and any hope of rescue was sailing in calm waters hundreds of miles away. We assumed the role of Ferris Bueller long before he existed. I taught him all that he knows.

There have been more serious wanderings. I wandered off from a successful law partnership after twenty-one years because the Holy Spirit told me to do so on the way to work one morning—and to do so without hesitation. A little over six years ago, I wandered off from the church I had attended for fifty-five years. God had called on me to lead a challenge for discipleship training and greater awareness of needs surrounding our community. Change was not accepted in that instance. Instead of dwelling in defeat, the Lord called on me to wander off with Him on an incredible and continuing journey of observation and learning about the state of faith in our land.

Recently, a much too busy schedule and two children marrying in short order caused me to journey into being a bit down and out. My family was changing. I realized those marriages and jobs would soon take them away. The fact that we would never experience family life in the same manner hung over me. A mixture of joy and a bit of sadness that things have changed is odd. I cannot wait for grandchildren and to see all that lies in the promise of my wonderful children and my soon-to-be extended family. Yet part of me wants to hold on to those little guys that I carried fishing or coached in baseball. I suspect I am holding on to my youth in doing so, a youth that no longer exists. In the bedlam of change, somehow, I seemed to wander off from my relationship with my heavenly Father. Immediately I missed the most profound influence in my life. Awakening before sunrise on a Sunday morning, I poured my heart to my heavenly Daddy one more time. His welcoming and warm arms took in this prodigal son, lifting my spirits, providing reassurance and comfort. I realized for the first time that if we do not wander off on occasion, we lose track of forgiveness and love that our heavenly Father so freely shares. I then began to wonder if we were designed to wander off, to explore, to learn, to grow, to fail, to aggravate, to agitate, and to become all that much closer to our Creator. How remarkable it is that our heavenly Father, as omniscient as He is, has one need. He needs a relationship with us. We are His jewels and a treasure so precious that He gave His only Son not only to reconcile us but to provide a path back to Him even after we have wandered off. He is a God of reconciliation.

Graduates, let me challenge you today. Wander off. We need you to wander off. It is my belief that if we don’t wander off, we become very stale. Every institution existing at this time in history is stale and is in need of reform. Every institution. We are in the midst of what I call a “cold civil war.” No shots are being fired, but our divisions shout that we must change. You are the instruments of change, and you can and will do better, and do not let convention and others restrain your creativity and motivation to do so. Your views and opinions, political, social, and otherwise will immediately confront a real world that is not so kind or patient. You will be challenged to decide what really matters. That process demands critical thinking skills that will inevitably lead to challenging the norm. And you will be rejected and dismissed on occasion. While rejection hurts, deal with it. Let it make you stronger and more resolved.