If something is free

By Jeff Becraft

Every summer I get to do a camp with a children’s home at Garden City Chapel.  One of the main reasons that Garden City Chapel (GCC) was started was to provide a place for children’s home kids to have the opportunity to be at the beach.

Back in the Fairway Outreach days, we would take kids there from group homes and kids from the inner city on a regular basis.  For many of them it was the first time they had ever seen the ocean.

One of my favorite parts of the beach retreat is the coupons.  Each day we receive a coupon for a drink and one for an ice cream cone.  (My favorite coupon, though, is the one for the ice cream.  I mean, we are talkin’ being out in the hot sun with all the activities and then walking into the Sea Shack and putting down that coupon on the counter and we get an ice cream with a waffle cone and everything?!  Is anybody pickin’ up what I’m throwin’ down out there?)

In the middle of the coupon… in big capital letters… is the word FREE.

If something is free, it means that someone else paid for it.

I didn’t pay for it; Garden City Chapel paid for it.  But because of their love and commitment, I am able to enjoy what they have provided.

This morning was a beautiful morning in Columbia.  How many times do we get a morning like this on May 26^th?  I thoroughly enjoyed the weather while eating breakfast outside on the back deck.

I am able to enjoy this freedom and peacefulness of eating outside and relishing in the weather because there are people… many people… who paid an awful price for us to be able to enjoy such freedoms.

One time a few years ago, I had the privilege of hearing a pilot from World War II speak.  In a very sincere and genuine tone, not in a resentful tone, he said something along the lines, “We don’t like talking about the war.  You all are the ones who keep bringing up the war and want to talk about it.  We are trying to forget about it.”  He talked about what it was like when he saw one of their planes go down on a mission.  They were just playing cards together with that pilot the night before.

The highest use of freedom is to do what is right… not simply to demand my rights.  Demanding my rights simply means my focus is still on myself.  For our military, they have laid down their lives, so that we might experience life.  Let’s use that to the fullest and focus on using our lives in doing what is right and good.

Enjoy what there is to enjoy this weekend… to the fullest.  There was an awful price paid for it.  And let us remember those and be thankful for those who paid that price.

Jeff Becraft is the Interim Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Youth Corps is a life-changing leadership development experience that inspires high school students to be leaders in the Midlands and beyond. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].