Beyond Congratulations—Ways to Support Our Graduates

Share this post

Excitement. Accomplishment. Anticipation. I felt all of those plus a good dose of fear when I graduated from high school decades ago. After 17 years on a dairy and crop farm in rural Minnesota, I moved 85 miles east to attend a Christian college in a city of some 30,000. What a change for a small town teen familiar with back gravel roads and Holstein cows.

Much has changed since then both in society and in communication. Teens take their laptops rather than manual typewriters to college. Smartphones provide an instant connection to home unlike the snail mail of yesteryear. And dorm rooms are personalized, decorated and comfy beyond simply Grandma’s patchwork quilt layered on a twin bed and posters tacked to walls.

Yet, similarities remain. Graduates still face change and the unknown. And just like me all those years ago, they need the love of family and friends, including their church family. Graduation day and the months thereafter offer the ideal opportunity to support graduates whether they are entering the workforce, going into the military, heading off to college or otherwise. The quilting group at my church crafts quilts for all graduates, literally wrapping the grads in those blankets during a special worship service blessing. The handmade quilts are tangible evidence of the congregation’s love and support.

During this transition time of expanding independence, youth often begin to question their values and beliefs. They are tested, challenged, tempted. And often stressed.

There are ways to help beyond listening and staying connected, although those are vital. First of all, pray. Pray for their protection, discernment, wisdom and faith. But do more than pray. Send a care package, slipping in a life-changing book, devotional or another printed form of inspiration. Add a greeting card with a handwritten note. Toss in a coloring book for some hands-on therapy. All are available through Warner Press and will be appreciated.

While it’s important to stay connected, it’s equally as important to let go. I once asked my mom if she had a tough time when I left for college. To my surprise, she told me she was too busy to really miss me given four younger children remained at home. That’s not really what I wanted to hear. But I understood.

Sometimes I need to remind myself of my mom’s perspective, of her ability to let go without worry. With my youngest living and working half way across the country, I struggle occasionally with the distance between us and the infrequency of our visits. But I’ve learned an important lesson—to rely on God to care for my son (and my daughters). It hasn’t always been easy, because there have been challenges. But God has not abandoned me or my children. Not once.

There is great comfort in God’s Word, in His promises. I trust in the words of Isaiah 58:11. The Lord will guide you always. Likewise, the words of Jeremiah 29:11 reassure me: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you and plans to give you hope and a future.”

That is a message we need to share with our graduates as they move on in life and grow into adulthood. We have given them roots—roots in family and faith and a sense of place. But we have also given them wings to fly in God’s grace into a the world that awaits them.

Audrey Kletscher Helbling

Audrey Kletscher Helbling headed off to college to study journalism with a suitcase full of clothes, a manual typewriter, a 10-speed bike, a quilt stitched by her grandma and a Bible stuffed into a blaze orange backpack. All helped her adjust, as did the occasional handwritten letter from home.

May 15, 2018 | View: 1748 | Categories: Church, Christian Life