The making of a Regent Family, September to May 1982

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“You ought to go to Regent”, they said to me at home.
I’d rather go to Paris perhaps, or even Rome.
“You ought to go to Regent”, declared Bill Kennedy,
“I know ‘twill do a lot for you as it had sone for me”.
But many there encouraged me and so I thought I’d try.
I came to see the summer school and thought perhaps ‘twould do.
I went back home collecting things to last the whole year through. 
But if I go to Regen, where will I find to stay?
I don’t have many friends yet, perhaps they’ll show the way.
And then spoke up Lynn Kennedy, “I know just what we’ll do!
We’ll stay with Jim and Rita; I’ll share a room with yo.
They are the neatest people, they’re never cross or shout,
They never lose their temper; they know what life’s about.
It’s true they have a little dog that barks all day and night,
But he isn’t really wicked, and he doesn’t often bite.”

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“You ought to go to Regent”, friend Betsy said to me,
“I spent a year at Regent and learned a lot you see”
I knew she went to Regent; I knew she found a beau,
But surely that’s no reason why I myself should go.
I’ve photographed the flowers and trees in rain and in the sun,
I’ve photographed my friends when they are sad or having fun.
Perhaps a year at Regent will help me to know more
Of the One who has created them and what He made them for.
Put all I’ve learned together in the spreading of His Word.
But if I go to Regent, where will I find to stay?
I don’t’ have any friends there, I’ll never find the way.
But Betsy then persuaded me, “I know the perfect nest,
You’ll stay with Jim and Rita, a home that’s quite the best!
They are the neatest people, they’re never cross or shout,
They never lose their temper; they know what life’s about.
It’s true they have a dog but then, I guess he’s very small,
He is no bother really; you’ll never notice him at all.”

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I’d like to go to Regent; I know so many there;
I’s like to find a job to do where people really care.
I’ve had my fill as nursing-aid, I’m ready for a change
I think that work at Regent would be well within my range.
I found a job at Regent, exactly tailor-made,
It was the very answer for which, I think, I’d prayed!
And while I was at Regent it happened that one day
I found myself in need of another place to stay.
I heard a room was vacant at the The Codling, “I will call
I’ll stay with Jim and Rita, though the room is very small.
They are the neatest people, they’re never cross or shout,
They never lose their temper; they know what life’s about.
I’ve met their little Hamish, he’s pure-bred through and through
He needs someone to love him, and I just hope I will do.

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“You ought to go to Regent,” my friends they said to me,
Though I was busy nursing as they could plainly see.
“You ought to go to Regent”, they cried with all their might,
Though I was busy nursing and much too tired to fight.
“You ought to go to Regent”, I heard the gentle word,
And then I stopped to listen, perhaps it was the Lord.
But why should I take time off to study and to read,
When I have got my hands full with many here in need?
“Just off you go to Regent and work the whole year through,
And when I think you’re ready, I’ll tell you what to do.”
I don’t have any friends there; I’ll never find the way.
But that’s when Barb and Beat announced, “we do declare,
You’ll stay with Jim and Rita, you’ll sure be happy there!
They are the neatest people, they’re never cross or shout,
They never lose their temper; they know what life’s about. 
They even have a little dog we met him at the house,
He is the neatest puppy and as quiet as a mouse.”

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And so, we came to Regent from places near and far,
From sunny, warm and frosty lands we came by plane and car.
And as we worked and listened and learned what God would say
We came to see that, just perhaps, He’d planned it all this way.
Each one had something different, our individual need,
It seemed God had an answer if only we would heed.
Sometimes it was a friendship, perhaps a book we read,
A special word from Scripture, a message that we heard.
It was a place of learning, of stretching of our mind
Some days were full of meaning and others not so kind.
Sometimes were full of sunshine and visions of the Lord
But others black and lonely with darkness in the Word.
We had days of fun and laughter and days when we worked so,
And somewhere in the middle we all found time to grow.
And now the day of change has come, ‘twill never be the same
But we’ll always be a family united in His name.

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We’ve stayed here with the Houstons, it wasn’t all they said!
Sometimes were pale like sunshine and others fiery red!
The Houstons aren’t super, just ordinary folks
Who do not hide their feelings beneath politeness cloaks.
It isn’t always tidy, sometimes it’s just a mess,
We do our bit of cleaning, but sometimes we miss, I guess!
And as for little Hamish, he isn’t all that small,
We cannot quite agree we do not notice him at all.
But Gale is very gracious, and she feeds him at day’s end,
The rest of us, if truth be told, are driven round the bend!
And then we come to Peter who joins us at the table,
We’ve done our best to train him as far as we are able;
We’ve argued this and that with him and shown him to the light,
We may be short on logic, but we know we’re always right!
But one thing we love in Peter, his reverence for the Word
And his ever-present longing is to satisfy the Lord.
But when we meet together to take the evening meal
that’s when we find the wonder of this home’s so very real
Surrounded by the mountains glistening white with snow
With ships there in the harbour and city lights aglow
We’re constantly reminded of the wonder of the Lord
Who placed the range in order according to His Word.
The beauty of His craftsmanship is there on every hand,
The clouds, the rain, the sunshine are just what He had planned.