Graduations always put me in a reflective mood. They set me to pondering and wondering and usually leave me with a kind of melancholy sadness. Please don’t be too concerned for my well-being. I’ll assuage the pain of the closing of the school year with an educator’s annual sabbatical involving family and books and daily posts and blended mochas. It’s just that the students who have been a part of my lives for the better part of nine months will no longer be a part of it. Sure, I’ll see them around campus for years to come and maybe even end up being a fellow colleague with one or two of them in the future, which, of course, would make me feel a special kinship with Methuselah. I’m simply sad because I’ll never again have these kids, for lack of a better word, in my clutches like they’ve been. Granted, there are some kids who’ve been more challenging, who’ve hastened my desire for 2:55 P.M. each day, but overall, there’s a closeness I feel as a teacher to these kids who’ve been a blessing in my life, who’ve reminded me to laugh a little and care about the things that need care.
And so as these bright-eyed individuals commence with the first steps of the rest of their lives, I offer the following prayer for them:
Dear Father,
I commit these students into your care. They are a collection of precious and wonderfully diverse and unique individuals. Thank you for making and shaping them, for molding their hearts and minds. Thank you for the opportunity for my classroom to be but a brief rest stop in the journey that they continue to walk. Thank you for allowing me a slight glimpse into their hearts and minds. You’ve once again done marvelous works, and I praise your name for that.
Father, I pray that you would blanket them with the love of the Lord. Wrap them, smother them, enfold them in the love that never dies, that gives life meaning. Recklessly pursue them with that love. Hound their hearts until they know your love and your truth. Give them strength for the days ahead with the power of your love.
There will be days, Father, when the journey is tough, when the steps that need to be taken are perilous ones indeed. When the way is rough, take their hands and lead them on. Carry them through the trials of life and prepare them for the future.
Father, I have full confidence that you have awesome works in store for these precious children. I know that you want to touch the world through them. They are wonderfully gifted and talented. Father, with the power of your Spirit, equip them to make your Kingdom come on this earth. Empower them to pursue justice and peace. May the whole world know of the passionate love of Jesus Christ through these kids. Show your divine power in their lives. Change the world through each one of these kids.
In the Name of the Risen One,
Amen.
Feel free to send this prayer to anyone you know who’s graduating this year or for those who’ll be sitting in the stands fighting back the tears.