Blog Your Blessings Sunday

Grad­u­a­tion sea­son. It is almost over for this year.I’ve attended a cou­ple of grad­u­a­tion and award cer­e­monies to see loved ones hon­ored. Have you? How do they affect you?

I con­fess that I’m a big softy and I get a lump in my throat when the band begins play­ing “Pomp and Cir­cum­stance.” Hav­ing grad­u­ated a few times myself, I am keenly aware of how much hard work is required to earn the right to “walk” — espe­cially if an advanced degree is being con­ferred. I remem­ber well what it felt like to put on that cap and gown and savor my accom­plish­ments for a cou­ple of hours, feel­ing suc­cess­ful, sat­is­fied and relieved. I remem­ber hear­ing the cheers of my friends and fam­ily as my name was called and feel­ing loved, sup­ported and thrilled that I had made them proud of me.

Of course, grad­u­a­tion is only the begin­ning, as I found myself telling a fam­ily mem­ber recently who was about to grad­u­ate but not with the degree of suc­cess longed for, hav­ing fallen short of receiv­ing a cou­ple of awards and hon­ors dreamed about.

“Ten years from now, it will be a dis­tant mem­ory. In fact, in just a cou­ple of years it won’t mat­ter at all. Because nobody is going to ask you about those things when inter­view­ing you for a job. Your pro­fes­sional suc­cess is what will count.”

I knew that my words would not ease the pain of dis­ap­point­ment at not achiev­ing goals set years ago. Only time will prove out my words for that indi­vid­ual, as it has for me.

We’ve all fallen short and missed the tar­get, scor­ing a rim shot rather than a bas­ket. But in the over­all scope of things, such details are incon­se­quen­tial. Such minor fail­ures are the tools by which we learn what is crit­i­cal and what is superfluous.

Grad­u­at­ing, earn­ing the degree or diploma is what counts and a bless­ing to be cel­e­brated. Get­ting a solid edu­ca­tion is the foun­da­tion for the rest of your life. And in the United States, even though the head­lines decree the ever-rising cost of advanced edu­ca­tion, there are still ample oppor­tu­ni­ties and options for attain­ing one’s edu­ca­tional and pro­fes­sional goals.

But our Divine Cre­ator pro­vides for us in all things. If we use the intel­lect and tal­ents bestowed upon us, we will receive the sup­port and means nec­es­sary to achieve our dreams as my favorite verse reminds us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to pros­per you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jere­miah 29:11)

Con­grat­u­la­tions to all who are grad­u­at­ing and earn­ing acco­lades at this time of year! For you, there is def­i­nitely “hope and a future.” May you real­ize your dreams!

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