Graduation Day

My daughter ended up being a December college graduate. Graduating from the University of Colorado on one of the coldest, snowiest Decembers on record will make this memory stand out even more than it would have on a sunny spring day. It was held literally in the press area of Buffalo Stadium with snow covering the end zones. Someone had already celebrated by carving their initials in the snow under the goal posts.

Graduations are proud times for parents, but the older our kids get, the less we feel we had anything to do with this.

When our kids are just children, it’s easy to think they are little extensions of ourselves. We are led to believe, by their size, that we are in more control of their lives than we really are. As they grow older, the truth of the matter becomes more obvious: they belong to themselves and their choices. They belong to us in name and tradition, (and we hope in lots of personal visits), but they are also striking out on their own course. We hope and pray they will ultimately belong to God, but that is out of our hands as well. At some point, we give up trying to control them and just sit back and take it in. That’s what I did at this service. Pride wasn’t even appropriate. I was proud for her, but not proud for me because I had so little to do with this. So I relegated myself to being the photographer snapping memories for us all.

At least that’s what this graduation experience was to me -- a chance to stand back and wonder “Who is this person?” and thrill in the knowledge that the world is waiting to discover the answer to that.

Don’t you know that God gets a similar joy out of us? Of course He’s in control, but in some strange way known only to Him, He is not, because there is plenty of biblical evidence of His surprising give-and-take with His own creation. Soon, God will be like a proud Dad presiding over the graduation of His children into eternity, and somehow He will share with us the credit for what He has done. It’s the way He has chosen to allow us to partake in His work and His kingdom. He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

That’s a moment worth our attention now as we seek to follow His will day by day and on into the New Year.

John Fischer is the Senior Writer for Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotionals. He resides in Southern California with his wife, Marti and son, Chandler. They also have two adult children, Christopher and Anne. John is a published author and popular speaker.