Another Beginning

CELEBRATE AGAIN!
Terry R. Baughman

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, …” (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJ).

During this season of graduations, the Commencement exercises are a time of honoring achievements made, but it is also a challenge to greater things and new beginnings. Speakers are asked to speak to the graduates and others who assemble for the celebration of graduation, but there are few who will remember the words spoken. Most graduates, friends, and family members are just waiting for the name to be called, the folder given, and quick photographs and the moving of the tassel from one side to the other. There are gatherings, parties, and photos with friends that are far more important than the words of the speaker in that moment.

The gravity of the occasion and the challenge of the future is only realized in the days and months after the ceremony. Reality sets in when others are going back to campus and the prior classmates are not included. Classes resume, but the graduates are not on the roll and not expected to attend. Ready or not, it’s time to move on to another course of instruction, a job, vocational training, or military service. These are big decisions that shape the future and require soul-searching and prayerful consideration. 

A Commencement is also a beginning, for that is the weight of decision that rests upon every graduate, “What is next?” It is the start of another phase of life, a step toward a career, new opportunities, or continuing education. 

The wise man wrote, “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, ….” Another translation said, “Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, ‘Life is not pleasant anymore’”(Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT). The most important aspect of graduation is to seek God’s direction for life and every decision you make. Honoring God in youth brings blessing and fulfillment in time to come. 

Remember the wisdom of the Proverb, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT). Today, and everyday, let us look to God for help making decisions large and small, knowing that only He can know our path and direct us the way we should go as we face another beginning.


Theme passage:
“For God has given us these seasons of joy, days … decreed for us to celebrate and rejoice” (Psalm 81:4 TPT).