ART & P0ETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER
This painting stirs the imagination. We see the city skyline in the background and countless box cars lined for miles in an inner city setting. The colors have some significance too. Rusty sienna engulfs the entire image, indicating age and wearing out. As we congratulate our graduates this year, it might be good to point to these thoughts: During the educational years, they may not see the value in what has been taught. They may become cynical in a country that seems to be divided and off the tracks. The job market isn’t as sweet as they may have thought it would be. They may become sidetracked, and all that education has been for naught.
In life, we experience all of these things. Never knowing what tomorrow will bring. Not being able to figure out our futures. Feeling hemmed in by the parameters that hold us tightly in their grip. There will be positive wishes for these young adults, but God gives us His best advice in His own words of the Bible.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Our lives are often filled with goals too hard for us to reach,
We dream big dreams and reach so high, we lose the things we breach.
As time goes by and dreams become a whisper in the wind,
It may seem so impossible, you’re likely to rescind.
To step outside that little box, is harder than you think,
To widen the parameters can mean you swim or sink.
Don’t limit life to smallness, you could be on the brink,
Of reaching for the best of things – and putting things in sync.
Have faith in God and trust His will. He has a plan for you.
He’s promised to be there with you in all that you will do.
atimetoshare.me 
Thanks. We sometimes forget that God is always there. Where else would He be? I remember the late Mother Angelica, founder of the Catholic Televison Network, EWTN, would often say that if God ever decided to not be there, we would be a grease spots where our bodies were before. (That’s certainly a paraphrase.)
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I’m not Catholic, but what Mother Angelica had to say holds a great deal of merit.
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Such good insight and advice
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Thank you💕
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Your husband’s painting reminds me of Chicago where dozens of railroad tracks converge at the Chicago Rail Hub. One of the buildings in the skyline even reminds me of the Sears Tower. His choice of rusty sienna as the main color certainly does speak to the city’s age and locales within that are worn and tired. / You poem’s conclusion offers wisdom AND encouragement to all 2025 graduates: “Have faith in God and trust His will. He has a plan for you. He’s promised to be there with you in all that you will do.” AMEN, Cathy!
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Thank you so much for your kind comments. I believe this was in north Minneapolis, which is very much like Chicago today. Paul went to art school at the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1960s so experienced the railroads there too. I pray that our young people of today will see the importance of putting God first in their lives. They need to know that He has their backs. We aren’t guaranteed perfection in this life but we can be assured of it in the next one as long as we live according to His plan. You’re so kind in your inspiring comments to me. I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I love your posts as well.
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