Thinking of you, my child, and the fact that you’ve finished college, I have much in mind that I lay before the Lord in prayer. I hope you won’t mind that these thoughts ramble in no particular order as I write them for you to read and heaven to hear. I know the Spirit above doesn’t mind, because “the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered” (Romans 8:26).
I pray you will hang onto Jesus, to anchor your soul in the
firmness of his life and truth, and to lift you up in hope each day. When I
pray that you hang onto Jesus, I’m not thinking so much of the formalness of
this or that church—though church and formalness can be good spiritual
disciplines. My primary prayer is that
your heart remains connected to Jesus like a branch growing from a vine. Jesus pictured it that way: “As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself
unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me. I
am the vine. You are the branches” (John 15:4,5).
I pray you will hang onto memories—not only of college years
but also of childhood. Relish and
treasure the good things you’ve experienced, the laughs, the joys, the
interesting happenings. Remember times of blessing with family and friends. But also remember the struggles, the
challenges, the mistakes. Don’t dwell on
them in regret, but learn and grow from them as you take your past and present
self into the future.
 |
| Image credit: Verstegen Visuals |
I pray that the path you have chosen for your career will be
a blessing to you, and that you will always find satisfying work in your
field. But if it happens anywhere along
the line that you have to accept a position other than your ideal, I pray that
you’ll be able to make the best of that too. The great apostle Paul sometimes needed to
support himself by making tents. Sometimes you do what is needed rather than
what is desired. Through it all, preserve
your character and resolve. “Better is a little with righteousness, than great
revenues with injustice” (Proverbs 16:8).
In that vein, I pray you will see success as an inner,
spiritual quality more than as a financial quantity or as a résumé of
accomplishments. You may never win a
Nobel Prize or a Tony Award or any noteworthy prizes or awards. But being an everyday person in an everyday
life is okay also. And you may not make millions
or even tens of thousands, but if you have enough to survive, and you maintain
integrity in your heart, that is enough.
A person’s life “doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he
possesses” (Luke 12:15). Do your best to succeed where you are, in
whatever you are doing, remembering that the truest reward is richness of the
soul, being filled with a love and eagerness for those around you.
I pray you will network well, connecting with people. That isn’t always easy, because people and
relationships can be challenging. An
existential philosopher, in a famous line from a play, said: “Hell is other
people.” It’s easy to feel the way he
felt. But at the same time, we need
other people. We need networks—and not just the social media kind that exist
online. No person is an island. And even if some were islands, islands need
connections to other places in order to meet their needs and access opportunities. I pray that you’ll get along with others in
your career and community in beneficial ways.
“If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all
men” (Romans 12:18).
I also pray that as far as you yourself are concerned, you
will be comfortable being who you are, where you are, and how you are in
life. Don’t let yourself worry whether you
fit in with others or line up with expectations others may have. Life doesn’t need to be a game of keeping up
with the Joneses or the Kardashians or whomever else. Allow yourself plenty of leeway for finding
your own way. Accept that there will be changes in plans, redirections and
do-overs. Remember that you are unique, that you are God’s workmanship, and he has
prepared in advance many good things for you to do (cf. Ephesians 2:10). In whatever direction you go, go with confidence
in yourself and in the Father above, who cares for you.
I pray you will do better in life than us, your
parents. I don’t mean that necessarily
in financial or career terms, though that would be nice too. Mostly I mean for you to have happiness,
stability, and contentedness to a greater degree than we have evidenced. Though we’ve tried to devote ourselves to you
in love and leadership, parents are never perfect examples. For the best sort of leadership, always look
toward the Lord himself. “Be therefore
imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, even as Christ also
loved us and gave himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:1,2).
I pray you will be honest with yourself and with others. I
know, I know, I haven’t always been that way myself. I’ve put up false fronts in public and said
other things in private. But in the end, that only leads to internal and
external conflict. Better to be the way
that Jesus described Nathanael, when choosing him as a disciple: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
deceit” (John 1:47).
I pray you will remain a positive force for good in the
world, even when this world seems to have little that is good and positive in
it. When you look around and see
perpetual crises and conflicts, refugees forced to flee their homes and lands,
children growing up in poverty and hunger, and all the other woes of this
world, it’s easy to give up on making the world a better place. But remember that the same Bible that prophesied
there will always be “wars and rumors of war” (Matthew 24:6), and that “you
always have the poor with you” (Matthew 26:11), also said to us: “As we have
opportunity, let’s do what is good toward all men” (Galatians 6:10), and urged us to offer “petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks”
for everyone around us (1 Timothy 2:1). Keep striving to do what you can in your own
little corner of the world to make an impact there, even when it’s hard to see
much change occurring in the wider world beyond you. Don’t give up on being someone who loves your
neighbor, even when the wider neighborhood of the world seems not to notice or
care.
I pray you won’t be surprised or devastated when trouble
comes along, when plans get derailed, when obstacles block your path. In this
world we will have trouble, Jesus said (cf. John 16:33). So if you do encounter painful difficulties,
don’t despair. Not all of life will be
rosy, and even when there are roses, they always come with thorns attached. So hang onto hope though thick and thin. Endure hardship when it happens, be
disciplined by it, grow stronger from it. "All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet
afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been
trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).
I pray you will savor and be strengthened by the simple
pleasures you can find in life—a refreshing beverage, a relaxing evening at
home, a walk in the park. I hope too
that your life may have its fill of exciting moments and bigger
adventures. But when you can’t get away
for exotic vacations or extensive travels, I pray you’ll be able also just to appreciate
the life that you have, wherever it may be. Just say, “Feed me with the food that is
needful for me” (Proverbs 30:8) – that is enough.
Finally, I pray you will remember where home is. You are all grown up and away from us now.
But we remain your parents always, and maintain concern for you
constantly. You still may need us for
advice, for reassurance of love, or just for a hug or a chat. Don’t stay away
from home or off the phone from us for too long at a time. And even if you are
at a point where you don’t need much from us, we very much need you and yearn to see you
and hear from you. So don’t forget dear
old mom and dad. As the Bible urges, “Listen
to your father who gave you life, and don’t despise your mother when she is old”
(Proverbs 23:22). You are our most
precious treasure on this earth, and we are always praying for you!
******************
Just released on Kindle Direct Publishing: Faith Lives in Our Actions: God's Message in James Chapter 2. Get the eBook for your Kindle, or you can download the free Kindle app to read on any device.
