One Final Graduation!

This Saturday, May 20th, our daughter Joanna will graduate from Lafayette College in Easton, PA.  Joanna will receive two bachelor's degrees, one in psychology and one in music, with a minor in Spanish.  Since she is our youngest, this will be our final college graduation as a family.  Thus, with Joanna's graduation, Kim and I are officially done with the college years! 

Of course, this is a bittersweet occasion for us.  No doubt, we are very proud of our daughter. And with her graduation, we are glad to be moving past the years of trying to choose the right school, filling out applications and the annual financial aid forms, the endless moving in and out of dorms, and the mountain of complications that are just a natural part of attending college these days (not to mention the financial matters!).  Since 2009, Kim and I have had a child in college—that eight years worth of college!  In fact, for five of those years we had two attending at the same time!  So, yes we are glad to be moving past the college years.

Joanna & me by the river in Easton, PA

On the other hand, it's also a bit sad for us as parents, for we know that once our children graduate they begin to focus on the stuff of their own life much more than on the stuff of our lives. They become much more independent from the home and from us as their parents, and rightfully so. In fact, Joanna will be moving within just a few weeks to New Haven, CT for her first post-college job.  Thus, with this final college graduation, Kim and I know that we ourselves are moving into a new stage within our lives. For us, it's as if a chapter of our lives is coming to an end.

As it does, I look back with great thanksgiving for the years we have spent together as a family. I know I speak for Kim when I say that we are glad to have had the privilege of raising our children. And, with God's help we will continue to do our best to bless them as each of their lives progresses. Truly each of them is a gift from God—which is the meaning of each of our boy's names: Jonathan and Nathaniel. And, each of them is a sign of God's grace upon our lives—which is the meaning of Joanna's name.

My prayer for them, for each of you who is reading this blog, and for Kim and me as well comes from the last few words of the book of Hebrews:  “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21 - NIV)

I pray that in each stage of life, God will bless and use each of us for his glory!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris