GRADUATE PRAYER 2021

Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever.  Praise be to you for every good and perfect give we have access to through relationship with Jesus.  You are a good God, a good Father. Thank you for the gift of the mind and the ability to learn.  We're blessed to live in a nation where men and women can learn together and do so without fear of persecution.  We're excited to celebrate the accomplishments of our 2021 graduates.  Praise be to you for the completion of their education, whether from grade school or grad school.

We ask your blessings on the high school graduates as they move on from what has been so familiar.  Grant them wisdom as they walk into the freedom of adulthood.  Would they quickly realize how empty a life without you really is.  How the freedom of doing whatever they want isn't without the shackles of consequence.  Open their hearts to understand what you mean by, "everything is permitted, but not everything is helpful...not everything builds up."  Show them how different and superior freedom in the Kingdom of Heave is from the false freedom of American autonomy.

And for the graduates who are pursuing your Kingdom through vocation; thank you for granting them focus and direction and strength and endurance.  Keep them in your hand, God.  Continue to bless them as they head to what is next.  Open their eyes to your faithfulness; as you have led in the past, lead now into the future.

Give the graduates focus and clarity to understand how they can glorify you in this next stage of life.  In a world that excels in deceptions and distractions, grant them the courage to respond and step toward their God-given purpose.  Empower them to walk into the future with faith, hope, and great love guided by your light to discern what is right and just.  And to use their gifts wisely in service to others.

Father, as they leave and likely begin something and somewhere new, show them all how well you know them.  How uniquely they image you and how they can participate in your redemptive work through those unique giftings no matter where they are.  Be honored and take pleasure in the words of their hands as they give careful thought to their ways.

We pray, as a family, for the moments of failure that are sure to come.  Under the Spirit's guidance, use the fear of failure as a messenger of grace, reminding us of truth: that apart from you, no good work will come to fruition. Without you, no achievement will endure.  Let their failure drive them to rest on you. May they be successful in the task of being faithful.

For those who will or are wresting with their faith, be real to them. Help them to see you. Give them spiritual discernment and the ability to see through the enemy's lies.  Satan has nothing good for them.  Ultimately Lord, we pray that your Kingdom would come in their lives.  All that we search for: wholeness, fulfillment, belonging, purpose, joy, peace/shalom, are found in you. Bless these graduates and complete the good work you have begun in them.

We love you.

We trust you.

And we look for you to return soon.

Amen.

BLURRED LINES.

Page 131.

The last sentence, “…[Kya] searched for an explanation of why a mother would leave her offspring.”

I closed the book and put my head back. Thought of my own mother and her current absence.

A few months ago, I would have simply passed that last sentence on page 131 as if it were like all the others.  However, as I’ve been taking inventory on my life and schedule, focusing on eliminating hurry, I’ve been allowing myself to linger. It seems that lingering is the antithesis of hurrying. So, instead of pushing past the moment, I decided to pause.

That one little sentence evoked a longing to search for understanding. Questions fill my mind: does she ever think of me? If she does, how often and what does she feel? Are there mixed emotions or one that dominates?

It seems almost impossible to think she might actually miss me!

All evidence seems to confirm the impossibility; it has been almost five years since the last text message. I don’t even remember when the last time I saw her was, but I do remember it was short and ended as it usually did: she was angry and I was sad.

As I lingered, paused, and considered, my eyes began to blur. Much to my surprise, I was crying. Silent and soft tears of buried ignored sadness. I’m not ready to fully confess all the thoughts and feelings that stirred, but I know it was right to fight the urge to hurry.

ACCURATELY DIAGNOSED.

For months I didn't know what was wrong. I could neither pinpoint the problem nor find the right words to articulate the feeling. The frustration of not knowing what was wrong was equal only to that of not knowing what to do about it. The best word I had to describe it was "dead." Spiritually dead. But that still wasn't right. Even if I couldn't name what I was feeling...or not feeling seems more accurate...I knew I wanted it to be over.

This indescribable feeling lasted for weeks and although it was a "spirit problem" it was beginning to manifest physically. Exhaustion, despondence, sadness, a total lack of joy. I am a naturally joyful and excitable person and to have no zeal for anything was completely foreign. I love my job, my church, my friends, my home, my life! All the things are so good. I am so blessed. And none of that had changed! Even my pursuit of Jesus hadn't changed. Still leading Bible studies, still praying, still worshipping.

It just didn't make sense. Why this internal change when nothing external had changed?!

A week ago a friend recommended a podcast called "Fight hustle. End hurry."

Maybe five minutes in the episode and one of the co-hosts said, "you must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." For the first time in months I felt a leap in my spirit. THAT WAS IT!!!

Hurry and hustle had become my way of life and it had so drained me. I'm not sure what was more life-giving in that moment: having words to describe what I had been feeling or the actual jolt of excitement that had eluded me for some time.

If you've ever been ill and not known why, struggling to explain and be understood, you can empathize.

If you've ever been through that and then been accurately diagnosed, you can celebrate with me.

My appetite to understand was insatiable! Every word John Mark Comer and Jefferson Bethke said in the podcast was a balm to my weary soul.

"Jesus wasn't in a hurry."

"We spend so much time studying the words of Jesus. We don't spend time studying the pace of Jesus."

Even now as I type I can feel my veins pulsing with elation.

After my fourth listen (in three days!), I ordered Comer's book "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry."  Y'all. Just between us (and anyone else you want to tell): I believe the ruthless elimination of hurry from my life is going to be a pivotal moment in my life. As Comer tells of his life pre-elimination (my phrasing), I see myself in almost every description.  

"…I feel like a ghost. Half alive, half dead. 

More numb than anything else; flat, one dimensional...empty. 

It's like my soul is hollow." (p.2)

That statement made me close the book and just sit in my bed. 

Completely arrested.

There's more to come. I know it.

There's more to the battle to eliminate hurry than a once-off decision. The battle will be waged with daily decisions to not do, not see, not attend.

I will miss out on things. ((insert gasp here))

The battlefield will likely prove to be my planner. FOMO (fear of missing out), the fierce warrior of the enemy.  However, what I've found is that packing my schedule with experiences has left me no time to actually experience anything. Always one foot out of the conversation. One event ahead of the present moment. Constantly hurried. And that’s not the life I want to live. That way of life has left me feeling dead. And “hurried” is not the person I want to be.

Consider this an invitation to join the journey.