I don't often attend graduation services anymore but I did go last night because I wanted to hear the guest speaker - class 78 and a member of my church. It was a typical graduation experience with the appropriate speeches, cheering parents and boisterous graduates. As I took it all in a theme began to develop in my mind - suffering. The valedictorian spoke of her mother whom she lost to Lou Gehrig disease a year ago. There was a young man who received his diploma in a wheel chair - he is a paraplegic. One of the more popular students lost all he had as his house burned a couple of months back. The guest speaker is battling cancer that has returned. Her oxygen bottle was by her side. I'm guessing that there are other stories I don't know about.
The young lady who spoke told about her dream to return someday and speak at her school. She wanted to arrive in a helicopter, be whisked to the platform , share her thoughts and then rush back to the chopper to leave because she had somewhere else to go - because she was a rich, famous and important person. We all laughed when she said at least part of that dream had been realized but that she arrived in a Toyota.
She went on to say that dreams often change or don't work out quite like we hope and that one of the tasks of life is to learn to deal with the change. She added that one of the most important things they would need was resiliency. As I listened I reflected that her life backed up her words for she is one of the most resilient people I know. I was hoping that the young adults wearing their caps and gowns were listening - listening like Jesus said "he who has ears to hear, let him hear".
As I left the stadium I wished for them the same kind of courage and resiliency Kim has. If they find it, then no matter what they do or what life hands them they will truly be successful.
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