Friday, May 30, 2003

By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

In my life and ministry, I have received a few honors, awards, and accolades over the years. Since the listing of them would appear self-serving and cause me to be thought a braggart, I will pass on the temptation to list a few of them. However, I do want to share about one of the most significant honors I have received in quite a number of years. But first, some background material:

Last Wednesday morning, I got up at around 6 a.m. and put in a full day. I was preparing to go to bed that night when, just before midnight, the telephone rang. A church member was calling to alert me about a medical situation and I immediately left for the hospital in the northern part of Atlanta. I arrived at the hospital about 1 a.m. and, at about 10 a.m. on Thursday, I left the hospital for home. I did get about an hour and a half of sleep (I dozed off in a chair at 3:30 p.m.) but awakened at 5 p.m. to prepare for an event which I had no intention of missing.

At a few minutes before 7 p.m., I wearily pulled into the parking lot of Community Christian School, which meets in a Baptist church in Morrow, just in time to attend the kindergarten graduation of one Anthony Thomson, Jr., also known as A.J. I attended the kindergarten graduations of my three sons, if memory serves me correctly, but have not made a habit of being present at such events as a routine matter. But this graduation was different.

A couple of years ago, A.J.'s father, Anthony, Sr., was away from his family for almost a year serving on active duty with peacekeeping forces in Bosnia. A.J.'s dad is a Georgia National Guardsman. After his stint in that sad nation, Specialist Thomson returned to his home, his wife and two children, his job, and his church. Then the war with Iraq intruded once again. The 190th Military Police Company was activated and sent to Ft. Benning in preparation for deployment to Iraq. A.J.'s father, once again, was called upon to serve and, once again, the good soldier answered the call to duty.

But this time was different. A.J., who had been protected somewhat from the situation in Bosnia, could not escape the images of war that flooded the newspapers, the television, and the talk at school and in the neighborhood. He took his dad's leaving very hard. The senior Thomson was faithful to call his family and to be encouraging so, in time, A.J. adjusted and expressed great pride in his daddy. But Dad would not be present for his graduation from kindergarten.

Which was why I had to be there last Thursday evening, regardless of how long I had been without sleep. The program that the children presented was uplifting and absolutely outstanding. The hour passed quickly and, finally, the 50 or 60 kindergartners, in white cap and gown with a blue stole, walked proudly across the stage, received their diplomas and a handshake, and passed into the kingdom of first graders. I was busily taking photographs of A.J., his sister Rebecca (who was moving on up to the fourth grade), and their mom, Verlinda. Those photographs, by now, are well on their way to a young father in southern Iraq.

As the service was closing, the principal called on the parents to come stand at the foot of the stage with their young ones for a final prayer. It was then that Verlinda asked me to come with her and stand in for Anthony. When I offered a gentle protest wondering if such a thing was appropriate ("Who is that old, bearded, white guy standing with that young woman and her kids?" I could imagine folks asking), it was Rebecca who calmed my apprehension by saying, "It's okay. After all, you are Father David."

And that is how I received one of the greatest honors of my life, standing in for a faithful soldier serving the cause of freedom far, far from home.

As I laid my hand on six-year-old A.J., I blessed this young graduate, his sister, his mother, and especially his dad. I prayed that A.J. would sense how proud his dad was of him and I prayed that, somehow, he would sense how heroic, courageous, and honorable is the man he knows as Daddy. And I prayed that all the mommies and daddies would be kept safe and return home soon to the spouses and children that love them so very much. And maybe just maybe this time they will not have to leave again.

[David Epps is rector of Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sundays. The church is located on Ga. Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be contacted at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com or at www.CTKCEC.org.]

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