Our son is graduating high school this week. In fact, by the time this post comes out he will have already graduated. Such an amazing milestone to celebrate. We couldn’t be prouder of him or more excited. This post might be a little shorter than usual. That’s because, as those of you who have done this before know, graduations take allot of time to plan and prep. There’s the house to clean, the backyard to tidy, the meal to plan, the food to order, the grad pictures to frame, the announcements to send, and the decorations to buy and put up. Frankly, it’s allot of work, but every bit of it is worth it to celebrate your kid. This kid who you once held in your arms and who now can hold you in theirs. I am absolutely cherishing every bit of this graduation planning and prepping. I’m cherishing it all the more, because up until this last week we didn’t even know that we would get to have a graduation and party to celebrate.

This year is different. Different than any year before it. This year the Coronavirus Quarantine of 2020 has completely changed everything about our lives, including the graduations of 2020. This year instead of sitting in a stadium or auditorium and going up on stage to shake a hand and receive a diploma, grads have been celebrating via car parades and parking lot graduations, and if they’re really lucky via socially-distanced pictures with the principal. This year grads and their families are being called to sacrifice the normal rite of passage and celebrate in a completely different way than we ever have before. 

These of course are not the only young people to have ever been called to sacrifice. Having just honored Memorial Day, I was reminded of other generations of young high school students who experienced hardships and changes, and who were called to sacrifice and stepped up to that calling. My grandfather left high school at 17 to join the navy on the pacific front in World War 2. He never had a high school graduation. And many of my dad’s high school friends left home just after graduating to fight in Vietnam. They had no post-graduation summer celebrations at the beach. These young people sacrificed not only their rites of passage, but for some they made the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives. What an example to all of us. 

Sacrifice is always hard no matter what form it takes, and change can be a struggle, but ultimately challenges, if faced, can make you stronger. Romans 5:3-4 says, “We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” I love The Message version of this verse in the Bible which says, “We know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.” 

Each year my son’s school chooses a word to describe the graduating class of seniors. This year’s word is “Resilience”. The dictionary defines “Resilient” as “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions”. This is the perfect word to describe his class and this year’s graduates. Remember, these are the kids that were birthed in the year of the 9/11 tragedy. There are many grads this year who began life with loss and sacrifice and who have had to overcome. Some were never able to meet their dads or lost a parent while very young, either because they were victims of the 9/11 tragedy or because they were soldiers who lost their lives in the war immediately following. And there have been other hardships and tragedies along the way as well. This fall my son’s class tragically lost a beloved classmate and friend in a car accident. My heart aches for the family. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and just as this year’s seniors were about to enter the home stretch of their final sports seasons and competitions, proms, award nights, grad nights, and graduations, BOOM, the stay at home order came. These grads have developed resilience. They’ve needed to. 

This unprecedented challenge of living life in the midst of a quarantine has definitely caused our high school seniors and families to sacrifice in ways that we wouldn’t have wished, but it has also happened at a pivotal time of transitioning into adulthood. And nothing prepares you better for the patience and resilience that you will need as an adult like trials and challenges. Ask any parent raising a child with special needs. Patience and Resilience is a must in life. And there is also no other better character trait to have as an adult, then to be able to step up and make sacrifices for others whether at your job, for your family, or for your country. 

So, here’s to the grads of 2020! This wasn’t how you would’ve planned it, but truly you are more prepared for the path that lies before you because of it. God has used this in your lives to develop a perseverance and resilience and in turn character that will serve you well in life. May you go forward in great anticipation of whatever God has planned for you. (Rom 5:3-4)

A few parting words from Dr Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go”

Congratulations!

Today is your day,

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!