A college graduate’s aspiration;
High School Graduation (Revisited)

A Step of Faith
A college graduate’s aspiration 

A step a faith into an unknown future
I now must take with prayer that God will lead.
My yesterdays morph into new tomorrows
where open doors invite me to succeed.
By stepping out I know I’ll make a difference
within a world of endless hurt and need.

A step of faith seems scary and uncertain.
It’s hard to trust in what I cannot see.
But all the same I long for things I’ve dreamed of…
a world at peace the way that it should be.
By stepping out with confidence and courage
dreams can come true if I will just believe.

A step of faith requires risk and reason
to take a chance that’s based on what I know.
What I have learned is prologue to my future.
Past opportunities have helped me grow.
By stepping out I’ll dance with countless choices
aware of God from whom all blessings flow.

* the above lyrics can be sung to the tune FINLANDIA

High School Graduation (Revisited)
Poetic reflections on a timeless rite-of-passage
 
In June of 1970
I clasped that parchment. Wow!
The world back then was so unlike
the way it is right now.
 
And yet some things seem locked in time
just as they were back then.
Take graduations from twelfth grade…
It’s like it’s always been.
 
The names are read while graduates
arrayed in gown and cap
parade across a high school stage
while parents cheer and clap.
 
With cameras focused on their child
each mom and dad express
a sigh of joy and some relief.
Their kid has claimed success.
 
Not much has changed in 40 years.
Commencements are the same.
There’s Pomp and Circumstance and then
how speakers place the blame
 
on world events like oil spills,
or inner-city crime,
political shenanigans,
how unemployment climbs.
 
They rail against the way life is
encouraging the grads
to challenge what the culture boasts
like fleeting trends and fads.
 
But how much of what speakers say
is heard by those in gowns?
My hunch is most of what is said
resembles senseless sounds.
 
And yet I’m not all that perturbed.
These seniors soon will see
just what it takes to change the world.
That’s how it worked for me.
 
A year or two away from home
at college or a job
will find these grads in “learning mode”
and calling out on God.

* In June 1970 I graduated from Wenatchee High School in North Central Washington State. I look forward to attending my 40th class reunion this summer.