Graduation!

Each spring about this time my wife and I, like most folks, receive several graduation invitations. They come from relatives or friends, celebrating high school diplomas and college degrees. This year, though, is different for us. Because this year it's our daughter who will graduate from Penn State University on Saturday! At age 35. Married. An army veteran. I say, "Well done, Keryl!!" She is the first of our four children to get her degree, though others have some college work. Clearly, we couldn't be more proud.

It makes me think of other graduations -- my own, other loved ones, friends. There are few celebrations that mean so much to a young person. Oh, I know some choose not to attend their own graduation, refusing to admit how important it is to them. That's okay. But I think they're missing something.

On another level, I once was asked by an adult Sunday school class participant -- tongue in cheek -- if one ever graduates from Sunday school! I replied, 'No, I guess not, but I've known some drop-outs.' Truth is, we don't really graduate from spiritual learning in this life, do we? Hopefully we gain insight, wisdom, faith as we go along. But graduation awaits on the Other Side.