Graduation time is always exciting. Donning the cap and gown. Marching down the aisle to "Pomp and Circumstance." Traversing the stage as your name is called to receive THAT diploma. Flipping the tassel or being hooded. Tossing the cap as the ceremony closes. Embracing loved ones who greet you with congratulatory remarks. It's all exciting! You did it!
I can remember all three of my graduations, although I confess it's a little more hazy with age. In high school after everything was over it was a race to get from the football field back to the check in station in the school to turn in our robes and get our actual diplomas. Since I was pretty fast in those days, I was one of the first. There was no hanging around and hugging classmates. It was get in and get out as fast as possible. I was in an out so fast that I beat my parents back to my house for the reception being held in my honor.
At my college graduation, I will never forget that my parents had to leave immediately because my grandmother's house was on fire. I had to finish to packing my things and all my fish and tanks. (I used to raise tropical fish in college.) By the time I got packed and made the 60 mile trip, her house was nothing but a crispy critter. My grandmother at the time was in Tennessee, recouping from a broken hip. We were able to drag a few things from the embers, and I was so grateful that my bass amp, which I had taken over days before graduation was spared any damage.
By the time my Masters graduation came, I was married with children. Having my wife and daughters there is about the only thing I really remember. Hanging out with my parents and family was more meaningful at that time than it was seventeen years prior and getting out of high school.
I couldn't wait to get out of high school. I had moved my senior year and missed my friends with whom I had carved out life from grade school. I moved back to "my" hometown to find work within two weeks of graduating and never lived at home again.
I remember how weird it was sitting on that plane, waving good-bye to my folks, knowing that I was leaving the nest. I was now on my own. It was a pretty daunting thought. You can't wait to get out, but once you're on your own the reality can be frightening.
Making your own way in the world is a challenge. Even though you've had plenty of counsel growing up, you are bound to make mistakes; sometimes major mistakes. Everyone makes them. I made them. You made them or will make them. It's the hard elements of life. They say we learn from our mistakes. My observation is that some do and some don't. Some of us are prone to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. If only we had the assurance that everything, every decision, every move we made was the right one in advance.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived actually gives us some counsel that will help us in choosing the right path. In Proverbs 6 he advises, My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.
Solomon is talking about Godly instruction from your parents that teach you Godly principles for living. He's saying that we need to incorporate those principles into our everyday life. If we do, then more than likely we will be able to choose the right path, the right actions, say and do the right things that will profit us. It's the incorporating of those principles that will form and shape our character. You won't have to question whether something is right or not because those principles are second nature to you, they are part of you.
As you set out to conquer your world upon graduation, grabbing hold of God's principles will serve you well. You are free from household rules, but you are not free from consequences of your actions. Many just want to run wild once they leave the safety of the nest. To those I would say, you will soon find out that the principles that God lays out are the most solid, profitable, beneficial ones you could wrap your life around.
God, thanks for sharing your wisdom for living life with us. Thanks for demonstrating it through your son, Jesus. Thanks for granting us Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to guides and instruct us. Thanks also for forgiving us and helping us find our way back to the right path.
I can remember all three of my graduations, although I confess it's a little more hazy with age. In high school after everything was over it was a race to get from the football field back to the check in station in the school to turn in our robes and get our actual diplomas. Since I was pretty fast in those days, I was one of the first. There was no hanging around and hugging classmates. It was get in and get out as fast as possible. I was in an out so fast that I beat my parents back to my house for the reception being held in my honor.
At my college graduation, I will never forget that my parents had to leave immediately because my grandmother's house was on fire. I had to finish to packing my things and all my fish and tanks. (I used to raise tropical fish in college.) By the time I got packed and made the 60 mile trip, her house was nothing but a crispy critter. My grandmother at the time was in Tennessee, recouping from a broken hip. We were able to drag a few things from the embers, and I was so grateful that my bass amp, which I had taken over days before graduation was spared any damage.
By the time my Masters graduation came, I was married with children. Having my wife and daughters there is about the only thing I really remember. Hanging out with my parents and family was more meaningful at that time than it was seventeen years prior and getting out of high school.
I couldn't wait to get out of high school. I had moved my senior year and missed my friends with whom I had carved out life from grade school. I moved back to "my" hometown to find work within two weeks of graduating and never lived at home again.
I remember how weird it was sitting on that plane, waving good-bye to my folks, knowing that I was leaving the nest. I was now on my own. It was a pretty daunting thought. You can't wait to get out, but once you're on your own the reality can be frightening.
Making your own way in the world is a challenge. Even though you've had plenty of counsel growing up, you are bound to make mistakes; sometimes major mistakes. Everyone makes them. I made them. You made them or will make them. It's the hard elements of life. They say we learn from our mistakes. My observation is that some do and some don't. Some of us are prone to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. If only we had the assurance that everything, every decision, every move we made was the right one in advance.
Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived actually gives us some counsel that will help us in choosing the right path. In Proverbs 6 he advises, My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline is the way to life.
Solomon is talking about Godly instruction from your parents that teach you Godly principles for living. He's saying that we need to incorporate those principles into our everyday life. If we do, then more than likely we will be able to choose the right path, the right actions, say and do the right things that will profit us. It's the incorporating of those principles that will form and shape our character. You won't have to question whether something is right or not because those principles are second nature to you, they are part of you.
As you set out to conquer your world upon graduation, grabbing hold of God's principles will serve you well. You are free from household rules, but you are not free from consequences of your actions. Many just want to run wild once they leave the safety of the nest. To those I would say, you will soon find out that the principles that God lays out are the most solid, profitable, beneficial ones you could wrap your life around.
God, thanks for sharing your wisdom for living life with us. Thanks for demonstrating it through your son, Jesus. Thanks for granting us Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to guides and instruct us. Thanks also for forgiving us and helping us find our way back to the right path.
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