Transitions
Believe it or not, I am facing the reality of my 20 year graduation reunion soon and I cannot believe I have gotten this old this quickly. Correction! I cannot believe that I have “improved with age” in such a short period of time…like a good grape!
Anyway, this got me thinking about this years’ graduation class in our schools and all they are going through right now. The decisions and changes that they face, how the relationships with their parents are going through a major metamorphosis, and how new-found freedoms can bring about more confusion than clarity.
I have been through many seasons of my life, and more transitions than I am able to count, but one lingers in my mind as the most painful and confusing, and it was the time after graduation and before self awareness. Between the ages of 18 and 21 I was really messed up.
Out of all my 37 years, these are the ones I would never want to live out again. Not that I was overly self destructive or addicted to all manner of poison and noise, I just didn’t know who I was. I knew who my parents were, and who they said I was supposed to be, but I had to find out for myself what I was made of. And that is easier said than done.
As a matter of suggestion, I would like to ask for you to pray for our graduates this year as they enter into their new world. If you have a son or daughter who will be receiving a diploma in ceremony, or if you have one that did not finish school and is going into the work force, please lift them up to heaven as they go through this major transition of life. Take into consideration all that they must define for themselves during the next few years.
They will be learning what it means to be self reliant. In a moment, our young adults will break free of their parents’ opinions on morality, ethics, truth, love, devotion, loyalty, and even faith, and they will have to define where they stand on these issues as an adult.
For those who continue on to college there is the element of distraction and responsibility, and they will have to learn that self-control must come from within if they are to be successful. I have to tell you that this isn’t easy.
As parents we learn to let go and allow our precious children to take flight and find their path, even if we are not sure of our own way sometimes! We must re-define this parent / young adult relationship, and do so without too much injury.
The issue of how to communicate can alone be overwhelming at best. Rest assured there is hope! Hope for the graduates, and hope for you parents. Trust God! If you do not know how to trust Him, let me teach you.
As a student, when you do not know which direction to go, or which decision to make, simply ask God what you should do. When you feel a calming in your spirit you will know that He has given you your direction.
If you are a parent, every time you feel the anger of miscommunication, the loneliness of children gone away, or the anxiety of worry about their well being, pray these words…” Father, I trust you to care for my child and I ask you to guide and direct them in their way, I release them to you,” (Philippians 4:6-8). And when you feel the peace in your spirit you will know that it is going to be all right.
The Word of God tells us in Proverbs 3;5-6 to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
I cannot say that I have made it through all of the transitions in my life successfully. Sometimes I came through with flying colors; and sometimes I had a lot of cleaning up to do. However, I can say that between the ages of 18 and 21, without God in my life, and my parents praying for me all the time, there is no way I would have made it through at all.