Engineering Alumni of the Year Award!

Here I am with Dr. Bob Harder - Dean, College of Engineering
at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum 

Our family spent this last weekend in the Newberg area again. We were drawn over this time because I was invited to attend the George Fox University College of Engineering Senior Banquet where Wanda and I would be the honored guest and I would receive the 2014 Engineering Alumni Award!

While GFU is not a powerhouse in the landscape of Civil Engineering education, it was an honor to be recognized by the faculty and staff of GFU.  It was also a wonderful time to share some of the story of my life with the 46 engineers that were graduating and their families.

I shared some of the ways that God has led myself and my family throughout our lives.  From sleepless nights on a couch to listening to birds and chipmunks at the Oregon Garden to watching water flow over the Silver Falls and down the Deschutes River - God has spoken and led in a great variety of ways in my life.

One thing I shared with the group of grads was to not hold on to the decisions that are barreling down on them too tightly.  It is so easy to get ourselves in a complete tizzy about making the "right" decision.  What if there isn't a "right" decision?  Hold that thought for a second.

I shared a some what imaginary analogy.  Suppose I have a young daughter who is experiencing Disneyland for the first time in her sheltered life.  She is 5 years old.  She has no context for what Disneyland is.  Then we show up one day.  There she is, surrounded by fanny packs and Bermuda shorts, since that is all she can see for her height.  She is holding my hand and we are headed to the Winnie the Pooh ride, I have the map, I can see over the crowd, and I have a plan to get us there.  My daughter does not know where we are going, she doesn't know how to get there, she has never been there, and has no idea what it will be like when we get there, or even what "there" is.  All she knows about the journey is that she is holding her fathers hand, and somehow, that makes everything OK.

So the analogy should be obvious.  But now what if my daughter is concerned about which way to walk.  Should she walk forward, or backward?  Should she hold by right hand or left?  Should she step on the cracks or jump over them?  These decisions could freeze her, make her stop and let go of my hand.  But honestly, it doesn't matter how she walks.  What matters is that she holds my hand and walks.  I am her Dad, I won't let her get lost or run over by the train.  I might let her get distracted and take the long way, but I will still be there.

I think there are a lot of times in our lives when we stand in the middle of Disneyland trying to figure out if it is better to step on the cracks or not.  Our Father stands patiently by (thank God that God is more patient than I am...) waiting for us to grab His hand and start walking.

I encourage you, just as I encouraged the Seniors to grab the hand of your Father, and then skip, or walk, or jump, or hop, or run - walk on the cracks, the curb or the log - walk on the right or the left - just move.

Again, thank you, George Fox University - College of Engineering for honoring me by recognizing my commitment to the pursuit of Engineering excellence and Christian integrity.