I love the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus (an “opus” is a musical composition). Richard Dreyfus plays a professional, musician who puts his dreams of performing and composing aside to teach music in a public school, so he can be at home with his young family. He ends up teaching for 30 years in the public school system and touches hundreds of lives. Over the course of the 30 years he continues working on his music; his dream. He writes and composes whenever he has time, and continues to build upon his “masterpiece.”  At the end of the movie, the school system decides to cut the music program, so he has to retire. His family, the faculty, students, and former students put together an assembly for him in the auditorium to celebrate his many years of service. His current and former students also surprise him by coming together to perform a section of his “masterpiece” on the instruments they learned to play in his music classes. He directs them as they play; Thus “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” I cry every time I watch it. It reminds me of my dad.

Today is my dad’s Birthday. He was born April 15, 1946. He has been a part of writing a opus of his own. He has composed, as we all do, a real life series of works. Each section of his opus tells a different story, with a different rhythm, and a unique sound to that part of the masterpiece. Even though he wasn’t a music teacher, he has written and lived out a beautiful work of his own in Springhill, Louisiana. He taught at the local high school, pastored at several different churches, and invested his entire adult life serving people. There are thousands and thousands of people who have been a part of this series of works. It’s God’s work, in and through him. One life after another impacted by this masterpiece…Phillip Carroll’s Opus.  Let me share a little bit of my section, which I’m thankful to say is still being written. 

My section of my dad’s opus includes every emotion and tone one could ever experience. It is filled with amazing crescendos of joy, happiness, and laughter, as well as decrescendos, moments of dissonance, and even long periods of silence. As you find in most of the great works, there are moments where joy encounters pain and laughter turns to tears. So does my story with my dad. I’m so grateful that at some point in the piece the tone changed. My dad kept writing. He kept pursuing. Thankfully my part doesn’t end on the dissonant notes. The minor chords are continuing to be resolved, and now the dominate tone has changed as this piece begins to crescendo and is filled with faith, hope, and love.       

I could write page after page about the many stanzas in my part of this opus. I could write about how much I loved to ride and go anywhere with my dad. I could write about how he was constantly on the move working, going, or doing something all the time. (For those that know me well, I get my ADHD from him. It’s generational.) I could write about the many hours I spent in the halls of Springhill High School as a little boy after school where he taught English, Bible (Yes they used to teach Bible in the public schools), Gothic Literature, and led the Student Council for many years. I could write about sitting and listening as he shared hundreds of stories from his childhood & adult life, and how I dreamed of the day I would have my own repertoire of stories to share with my kids and others along the way. I could write about the many moments playing catch, riding to a practice or a ballgame, and how great it felt to hear my dad say “I love you, and I’m so proud of you buddy.”  I still love to hear that part of the song today, and I’m so thankful to have a Dad who is still willing to say it.

I could also write page after page about the countless hours my dad spent counseling kids about their futures, pastoring churches, leading youth groups, performing marriage ceremonies and funerals, visiting homes and hospital rooms, going on mission trips, attending camp after camp, and the many prayers of faith he has offered up over the lives of so many people. There are so many sections of his opus, and each one tells a different story from a life impacted by my dad.

I am 45 years old today, and every time I’m around my dad I still feel that childlike part of me deep in my soul. Every person on the planet has a need in their life that only a Dad can meet. That’s why God gave us Dads. They are to be an example to us, as we gow up, of how we ultimately need Him more than anyone. I am learning that truth now more than ever as a husband and father.  I am flawed and prone to failure. As much as I desire to fulfill and meet every need my wife and children have, I cannot do or meet any need in anyone’s life without Him. On my own I will quickly cause pain, disappointment, and hurt in the lives of my wife, children, and others around me. My opus, just like my Dad’s, can never be written, and become all it was meant to be, unless every part is centered on the grace, redemption, forgiveness, and love that only our Heavenly Father can provide for us through His Son Jesus Christ. I learned that from my dad’s opus too. 

I must confess that I dreamed to fill the auditorium at Springhill High School for my dad when he retired. In fact, we were beginning to make plans, but it was not meant to be. Circumstances didn’t allow us to celebrate as we wanted. Now the auditorium and high school have been torn down, and replaced with something new. But just like in the movie “Mr. Hollands Opus,” you can’t destroy a memory. You can’t get rid of a song either. Once it’s put down on paper and put to music it will always remain. That’s the great thing about any masterpiece that is written and centered on a life filled with Christ; it’s an opus that will be sung for all eternity with everyone who believes. We will glorify our Father forever as we sit and reflect on our part in the many masterpieces we are blessed to be a part of in this life.  

Dad, on your Birthday, I want you to know how thankful I am to be a part of yours. And there are countless others who feel the same way. I love you!

There is something new in Forney, Texas that I love. In fact, it’s one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen in a long time. It actually challenges, encourages, and compels me to continue to move forward with the vision God has placed in our lives as a family. Every time I pass it, I smile and feel so proud to know it’s in my hometown. I find myself thankful to know people personally that would have the audacity to do something so visionary& misunderstood right where I live. What is it? It’s a BIG Bridge.

Yes, a bridge, and I LOVE it! It stands literally in the middle of nowhere. It’s huge. It has so much character as it stands there nearly complete. You feel its sense of dominance as it towers over Hwy 80, and when you stand on top of it you realize it’s big as a 5 lane highway. You can stand on one side and literally not see the other side. When I stood on it this morning, I appreciated it even more. It’s an awesome bridge!

You might be thinking, “Steven it’s just a bridge. There are other bridges out there. Many of them much larger." You are right, but they aren’t like my bridge. When most people pass under it they shake their head and don’t get it. That’s why it has been labeled the “Bridge to No Where.” Many are right in their description to some degree. It is a bridge, and right now it doesn’t lead you anywhere, but what they don’t get is that one day it will. That is why I love this bridge! It represents vision! It sees what others can’t see. It looks toward the future. It doesn’t allow the fact that the roads coming off of it lead to “nowhere” today because it knows someday they will! That kind of vision makes me want to shout!

I was there the day the dirt was turned over to begin the project many months ago. I had been asked to offer up the prayer of dedication and blessing over the project as it began. As I look back on that moment, I am so honored to have been asked to pray that prayer. I will never forget it. It was a prayer of vision, over a project of vision, and it was offered up by someone that was walking out a vision of his own.  I guess that is where my love for the bridge began. Not just because I was asked to say the prayer, but because I was able to see the beginning of such an amazing LEAP of Faith. It reminded me of the movie “Field of Dreams,” and the statement “If you build it, they will come.” It also reminded me of what God has called Donna and me to do. For those reasons, I didn’t feel so alone or isolated that day. That bridge didn’t know where it would eventually lead to, but it was being built anyway. We didn’t know or couldn’t describe (still can’t exactly) where we were going, but it wasn’t going to stop us from doing what God asked us to do either.

The morning I prayed, I stood among dignitaries, shook the hand of a billionaire, and enjoyed a table filled with free (I like free) donuts, fruit, and snacks. I shook hands with folks, watched as publicity pictures were made, and soaked up the moment, but later that day I went back out to where the dedication took place. The tent was gone, the people had left, and all that remained was the dream & the construction workers working to make it a reality. I breathed in the warm Texas air as the wind blew across my face and smiled. No fanfare remained no politics, no opinions, just a vision. It felt good to stand there.  

Over the many months that have passed this friend of mine (I consider the bridge and I now friends) has been misunderstood, used in negative campaign ads as a reason to not re-elect people that began to build it, and has found itself in the middle of controversy over and over again. All the while it just kept being built. It wasn’t deterred by the comments. It didn’t have to justify itself. It knows that people will eventually know why it’s there. It knows people will someday benefit from the fact that it is the only way emergency vehicles can cross the railroad tracks in the event of tragedy while the tracks are blocked. It knows that it will eventually relieve the flow of traffic in downtown Forney and provide convenience to thousands of people. It knows it offers hope for a bright future for our city and community. It doesn’t have to know exactly what shops, stores, or opportunities will eventually be in the huge fields on either side of its roads. It knows that one day those same people that complained, questioned, and condemned it will drive on its roads and benefit all the same.

This reminds me of a passage that people quote all the time. It’s in Jeremiah 29:11, and it says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

People quote that verse all the time, but do you know the context of the verse? Do you know who it was spoken to? Do you know where they were? Do you know what they were experiencing? It was written by the prophet Jeremiah. He was writing this letter to the Jewish people who had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and transported back to Babylon, modern day Baghdad, Iraq, which was a long way from home. He was declaring to them a vision in the midst of bondage. He was telling them the promises God had made to them. Jeremiah was called the “weeping prophet” because the people wouldn’t listen to him. He was called by God to warn the people that if they didn’t repent that this bondage would happen. As frustrating and hard as it was, he still spoke! Then Jeremiah spoke again. He declared that even though their disobedience had caused them bondage that God still had a plan a.  There was a “bridge.”

It didn’t make sense. It didn’t look like it was where it should be. It looked pointless, out of place, and like it was in the middle of nowhere, but there were people of vision that believed. They believed in the “bridge,” the vision God had declared to them. People like Daniel and the three Hebrew Children Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah. Men and women like Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and others that believed God had a plan; A Vision; A Bridge! While others questioned, complained, and criticized, these men and women believed the vision God declared through Jeremiah. Then they acted on their faith. They had Faith that gave them favor in the palace of kings. They had Faith that would cause the mouths of lions to be shut. They had Faith that protected them in the midst of a fiery furnace. They had Faith that gave them courage to speak and stand in the presence of kings in spite of the consequences. They had Faith that believed a huge wall could be rebuilt, and the temple could be restored, and that what God said was true. They believed that there were greater plans. They believed in hope & the future. They believed in a “bridge.”

I want to believe like that! I want to build where God says build. Do what God says do. Go where God says go. Even if it looks out of place, doesn’t make sense, goes against the traditional model, and I can’t explain it completely even when I try. I don’t have to! I just have to build. I just have to follow. I just have to obey. I just have to believe that God has a plan, and that he has made a bridge…a Way!

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Maybe you’re thinking, “Steven what do you guys know about this “bridge building” business.” I'd like to share with you our dream, our mission, our declarations…our “bridge.” You can read more about it under the “About Us” section of our website, but I want to copy a portion of that page below. This is our bridge in the middle of nowhere. No, it hasn’t been fulfilled yet. No, it isn’t fully funded or functioning. No, we can’t tell you how we make it through the month most times, but we know God will provide, open doors, and meet our needs. We believe He has a plan. We know it’s our bridge and we are standing on it together. I pray and hope you find yours.

• weDIGit doesn't have set fees. They believe God will always meet their needs, and never want to price themselves out of an event or opportunity. weDIGit is simply called to GO & share the Gospel. That is how Jesus operated on this earth.

• weDIGit goes immediately as the Spirit leads. They are ready and able to go at a moment’s notice where God leads to minister and bring hope. Much like scripture says in John 4:4 that Jesus “had to go through Samaria." Steven and Donna believe God desires for them to move as Jesus moved on this earth to wherever He calls them to go and do whatever He has called them to do.

• weDIGit has been commissioned to give and help those in need.  To BE the church and minister to the needs of those that God brings into their lives. weDIGit is a vehicle to give, serve, and bless as God allows, and then teach others to do the same.

• weDIGit blesses those in ministry.  After 22 years in full-time ministry, Steven and Donna believe that God wants to use them to bless families in ministry that are serving. They know what it is like to struggle and serve, and want to be in a stronger position to help these families throughout the year with encouragement and resources.

• weDIGit teaches people to BE the church at home first. Steven and Donna truly believe, and live out in their own family, the house church model. It is their desire to teach and encourage husbands\fathers, in agreement with their wives, to shepherd and care for their families and neighbors as outlined in the book of Acts. BE THE CHURCH.

• weDIGit serves and ministers within the culture. From the formation of weDIGit the call upon Steven and Donna's life was to go! Go to where people are living, working, and serving through events and opportunities as a couple. A husband and wife team working together to move into the marketplace and society by serving, consulting, and encouraging as God opens the doors.

Our daughter, Megan, started getting serious about tumbling about 2 years ago. She has always loved to do cartwheels and tumble around the living room, but she wanted to start learning how to do a back hand spring for cheer leading. She worked hard her 5th grade year, and even though she had the ability, she couldn’t quite overcome her fear to do the handspring.  

This past fall she started going to a gym here in town. Her goal was to get her back handspring down for cheer tryouts in the spring. She continued to work hard every week and began to overcome her fears. She chose to start going twice a week this winter to reach her goal. Every afternoon she would get on the trampoline in the backyard, and kept improving until she had it down pretty good. My wife and I were so proud of her.

The week for Jr. High Cheerleader tryouts finally arrived. Megan and the rest of the girls were given the instructions for the tryouts. They were told what cheer they needed to memorize, what they needed to work on, and what they needed to wear. Megan worked, and worked, and worked, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced. She had practice every afternoon at the school, her two nights of tumbling, and she even attended an additional work out with one of the High School Cheerleaders the night before the tryouts. She was ready!

She came home that Friday afternoon to get ready for tryouts. Donna helped fix her hair and put a cute bow in it, and she looked so pretty! It was surreal to watch them work together, and I couldn’t help but think about how she is growing up so fast!  I drove her to the tryouts and dropped her off. We couldn’t be there at all, so she was on her own. My stomach was honestly in knots for her, but she bee bopped right up in the middle of it. She was ready.

I came back and picked her up after tryouts were finished, and she was so excited. She felt it went very well, and several folks even told her she sounded great from the next room. She had gotten compliments all week at practice. She was feeling great and she said, “Daddy, I did all I could do.” She was right. She put in the hours and hours of work, and had done all she could do. We headed home to pack because we were going out of town the next day for spring break. Not long after we arrived home she fell asleep on the couch. She was exhausted.  

A few hours later we got the text that the results were up. Each girl had been given a tryout number, and they were going to post the girl's numbers that were selected. Megan was still sleeping when we found out, so we looked before she did. Her number wasn’t there. We looked again. Nope still wasn’t there. My heart sank. I knew what was coming. We looked on social media and started seeing some of the girls that did make it, and I wasn’t happy. In fact, I was angry. How was this even possible? I found myself thinking some thoughts that I’m ashamed I even thought. This wasn’t right at all. This wasn’t FAIR! She had worked hard. She was prepared. There was no way that those girls were better than Megan!

Donna told Megan and you can imagine her response. She was devastated. She saw who did make it and who didn’t, and she was upset all over again. We tried to console her. She still hurt. We tried to encourage her. She still hurt. We tried to make it better. She still hurt. The rest of the family tried to make sense out of it. She still hurt. Let’s just say it was a hard night.

Me? What was I thinking? I wanted justice! I sent an email! I sent text messages! I wanted to FIX it! But you know what? There was absolutely nothing I could do to change the outcome. It was done. Whether we agreed or not with what happened didn’t matter. Whether it was fair or not didn’t matter. There wasn’t a redo or a recount. It had been decided, and now all that mattered was how we responded. I wasn’t off to a great start in that area.

Things began to settle down, and I began to watch my daughter grow. I began to hear her words change from hopeless to hopeful. I listened as Donna spoke into her life words of life and encouragement, as only a Godly mom can do. I listened as Megan received her words. Then there was a knock at the door. The mother of one of Megan’s very close friends, that did make it, came inside with a bundle of colorful and bright flowers. The mom said that her daughter called from a car as she was traveling to New Mexico for spring break. The mom told Megan how her friend was weeping because Megan didn’t make it. She asked her mom to please go get Megan some bright flowers and give them to her as soon as possible because she knew Megan was hurting. She wanted to encourage Megan and give her something that resembled what she desired for her as well as something that expressed the kind of friend and person Megan was to her. Bright flowers were perfect.

As I write this, I find myself weeping. In the midst of such pain and true heartache, I was blessed to learn so much by watching a mom’s deep love for her daughter, my daughter’s dependence on what God thinks of her above the opinion of any cheer judge, and a friend’s love shine more brightly than the disappointment of that moment. It was powerful.   

As the days have passed by, I have watched Megan become more determined. She has kept going to tumbling, didn’t quit, and is getting better and better each week. She is now doing multiple back handsprings and even learning a full back flip. She’s flipping over and over on the trampoline every day, and I see in her a determination that makes me so honored to be her dad. She did all she could do, and now she’s learning to “Stand.”

I love the way Eugene Peterson translated Ephesians 6:13-17 in the message. It says, “Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.”

Megan did that! She applied God’s Word to the situation and has stayed on her feet. It didn’t knock her down. She isn’t blaming anyone. (I wanted to) She isn’t focused on who made it and wonder why they made it over her (although I have to admit I did). She is allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through her, applying God’s Word to her life, and the fruit is showing up all around her. She rejoiced with those that made it, continues to work hard for next year if she chooses to try out again, and our family gets to be blessed by the fruit flowing over in her life.

I love my family. I love my wife. I love my kids. But you know what? I’m learning how I respond in the midst of my kid’s disappointment & heartache is incredibly important. We can’t save our children or those that we love from pain and disappointment. It’s part of life. But what we can do is teach them to “stand” in the midst of it. They may falter. They may even fall, but when we walk with them through the struggle and point them to the one that is their savior, they can live a life like Ephesians describes, “when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon”

God does the saving! As a father, it’s my job to point Megan, and all of my children to Him. My job is to bear fruit and love her like God does, not change her circumstances to make her feel better. My time can be used so much more effectively by holding her in my lap and rocking her in the rocking chair after school so that she knows she’s loved. When she hollers, “Come watch me Daddy,” as she does new flips on the trampoline, I can go to the door and watch her over and over again. I can take the time to build a fire in the back yard and roast marshmallows and make S’mores under a star filled sky with her friends. I can pick her up from school, and go get a snow cone even when I’d rather go do something else. I can pray with her, kiss her on the forehead, and tell her that I love her every morning before she heads in for her last few months of 6th grade. Then get to hear the words, “I love you too Daddy,” as she shuts the car door.

As a father, there is no greater joy than to get to be a part of my little girl’s life, and the lives of my other children, and experience the Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control that flow from their lives as they learn to walk in the Spirit’s strength and not their own.

That’s our job as parents. I’m learning…I pray you are too.

I want to close by sharing a great blog that my wife Donna found the week after Megan didn’t make Cheerleader. It’s by a pastor from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Donna and Kevin went to church together years ago, and it is an awesome read. I encourage you to check it out because it gives some very practical insights on parenting when “Dreams Don’t Come True.” Here’s the link..http://www.kevinathompson.com/dreams-dont-come-true/

Be blessed.