Happy Monday!
It’s a special season for many students, which prompts today’s word-of-the-week…
COMMENCEMENT
I love receiving graduation announcements from former students. Each fancy envelope contains proclamations of proud accomplishment and brings back memories of a fresh face entering my classroom filled with possibility. I love the opportunity to remember successes and struggles and to celebrate achievements.
It’s good to celebrate. We should do it more. We should seek excuses to celebrate whenever possible. But we need to maintain focus and be sure we understand what we’re celebrating.
Students call it “graduation” and often perceive an ending. Officially the ceremony is “commencement” because it marks a beginning. The celebration surrounding a degree or diploma actually commemorates God’s design and character.
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18
God tells us to avoid dwelling on the past, because He’s a God of new things. So we learn from the past while always dwelling on present blessings and future hope.
This week I want to think about things I might tell graduates if they were silly enough to ask. Mostly it’s a chance to reflect on what I’d tell a twenty-two-year-old me, which is the same thing I’d tell a sixty-year-old me (minus the long hair).
Each day can be a celebration of commencement, because we worship a God of new beginnings.
What wisdom would you pass along to a graduate?
On this Monday, what commencement are you celebrating?
Have a great week.
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