My Fellow Graduates
May 12, 2020
By Nora Cunning, Pastoral and Media Support
This week is supposed to be my college graduation. I worked hard. I am valedictorian of my class and I’m the student body president. I was invited to give a speech, and my mother was coming from California to attend. I was so proud to show her, and my husband and our daughters my accomplishments! But, unfortunately, the physical graduation is not going to happen now due to COVID.
The President of the University asked me to participate in a virtual pre-recorded version of our graduation, where he and I and a few other faculty members would give short congratulatory speeches to the graduates. While this is a great honor, as I will be the only student participating, I have to admit that in my grief I wanted to say no. What’s worse is that when I went to respond to the invitation where they were asking me for ideas, I actually broke down and wept.
You see, this has happened quite often in my life when it comes to accomplishments and acknowledgements. I accomplish or achieve something big, but loved ones weren’t able to witness it or experience it with me for various reasons. The collective disappointment often weighs me down, but at the same time it has also driven me to continue giving my best in all that I do.
Each week on staff we are paired with a staff member to pray for. This week my partner is Pastor Steve Peich, the pastor I support as an admin, so we are pretty good friends. I always treasure his wisdom and insight into ministry, and I feel very blessed to work alongside him as I am discovering my own calling in ministry.
Steve called me to ask how I was doing and how he could pray for me. I don’t know if you know this, but when Steve asks, “How are you doing” and you aren’t doing okay, you sort of just unload on him. It’s because when he asks, he truly wants to know. I think it is quite possibly his gift, so I did just that.
I think the reason I wanted to say “no” to being a part of the virtual graduation is that deep down inside I feel worthless in spite of my accomplishments, a feeling that’s absolutely from the enemy. I was feeling that if I am not going to have the physical graduation, then I might as well just move on.
One of the things I truly praise the Lord for is the Father that He is to us, and the fathers He produces for us. God continues to place godly men in my life to remind me of the things a girl who was raised without a committed father needs to hear––– that my accomplishments are worth celebrating; that it is okay to desire recognition; that God created as a person of worth and value, and that my accomplishments are worth celebrating. Unbeknownst to him, Steve stepped in to help me see that. He encouraged me to celebrate with family on the day of the broadcast, and I plan to do just that.
As Christians we are born again into a new family. Our Father provides for our every need. He surrounds us with new family members who affirm us in our new identities in Him. He recognizes our accomplishments and celebrates us every day. We are worth so much to Him.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:4-9)
This week let’s celebrate every graduate in some way, whether it be a Zoom party or a phone call. Let’s show them that their accomplishments, and simply who they are, are totally worth celebrating, physically or virtually.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for making me worthy. Thank you for the family I have in you and for always surrounding me with that family when I need it. I pray every graduate would feel accomplished and celebrated on graduation day . I pray that loved ones would celebrate them and make them feel special and that they would know You are well pleased with them and their accomplishments.
Share this with a friend: