Take God with You..................

WOW!!!!!!!!!  I can't believe that it's been more than a month since my last post.  Life gets so busy and circumstances become so complicated, at times, until the more quiet and gentle personal pleasures fall victim to the loud and pressing issues of life.  I've missed my time of writing in this journal space, and so, have chosen this time and this hour to draw apart from the "busy" of life and simply contemplate.

Tomorrow, we as a church family will celebrate senior day.  Our high school graduates will don their regal robes of graduation, will march into the sanctuary amidst the triumphant and nostalgic melody of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance, will join together, one last time, as a group of well-known and familiar faces (and personalities), and will individually take center stage beneath photographic images flickering on wide screens - personal photographs which chronicle their growth from infancy to present day.  Each graduate will be presented a Bible - a tangible gift from the church that quietly sends the message that "we travel, in part, with you and pray that you will take Christ with you into all your tomorrows."  It's a very emotional service - the entire hall is filled to overflowing with a plethora of emotions.  Younger people yearn for the day on which they will stand in this special position, older people remember their own transforming steps from childhood to adulthood, and the young people - who are the actual graduates - are torn between running back to the safety of parental arms and forward to the promised hope of a new exciting future "just around the bend."

What do you tell the graduate?  How can you help them see that from the tears and fears of today will spring the blossoms of God's continuing story - the unfolding of His purpose for their lives?  How can you make them see that "today is the first day of the rest of their lives?"

Corrie Ten Boom once said that, "Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."  In the coming days, weeks, months, and years, I hope our graduates will realize the truth of these words.  God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has crafted individual "traveling" roads for each of these young lives.  Along and throughout this winding and unscripted journey, there have been people and circumstances which have helped mold and shape their lives, bringing them ever closer to this day by which the pupal chrysalises of development will give way to the fluttering of wind-filled wings in soaring flight.  The most important aspect of all this, however, is the fact that in fluttering, flittering, flying, or flailing, God's mighty hand is long enough and wide enough to securely accommodate all of life's travelers when they step out into the dawn of the future with Him as their guide and friend.

And every graduate should know and remember that happiness is a way of travel - not a destination.  Each day we, as familiar travelers of the road or those who are just starting their journey, need to turn to the one who is the creator and orchestrator of all of our tomorrows and dedicate our lives to Him alone.  Consider these words..................

Joshua 1:9
...Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Jeremiah 29:11
"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." 

Psalm 71:5
For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.

Psalm 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word. 

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

1 Timothy 4:12
Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young.  Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

And so, graduates of 2011 (and all those living out the journey that God has placed before you), "May the road rise to meet you.  May the wind blow at your back.  May the sun shine warmly of your face.  May the rain fall softly on your field, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Selah (סֶלָה )