to the class of 2020

Well, now we're in the midst of what should be graduation weekends and parties, but here we are, still on couches and in yoga pants.

Honestly, the social media world has done a lot for us, as seniors, over the last weeks. We've had lots of boomers upload their senior and graduation pictures to honor us-- truly, so honoring. I read a tweet that said that this was like posting pictures of your Thanksgiving meal to honor homeless people.

Mhmmm.

I've seen art that has portrayed sobbing graduates with masks on, along with cap and gown. I've read a plethora of Facebook, Instagram, and blog posts alllll about everything we've lost and everything that *should* be happening right now.

Good gracious, people, we need to pull ourselves TOGETHER.

First of all, I get grieving disappointment. That's one of my favorite things to talk about, because the Lord led me through a season where I had to grieve the death of hopes that had been rising for two years, only to end in complete disappointment. (Read my Blessed Is She post on disappointment here.)

Name the disappointment. But do not be contained by the disappointment.

As Christians, our hope is in Jesus, not graduation.

The devil is not that creative, and so he has about the same four tactics that he uses, and this one would be called: Distraction.

He's distracting you from the good, by inviting you to dwell in disappointment, frustration, and anger.

What is the good? My brother goes to Hillsdale, and apparently this is a question that they throw around a lot. But I'm not talking the philosophical sense; I'm talking the practical...what is the good that you see right now?

Disappointment distracts from celebration, and there is so much to celebrate RIGHT. NOW.

Think back these last four years, if you haven't already, to your freshman year self. So many moments have filled up these last four years: so many late nights, so much disappointment, so much joy, so much frustration, so much heartbreak, so much laughter, so much growth.

Not having a typical end to high school or college does not invalidate that, nor does it need to rob you from celebrating all of the ways that the Lord has healed and grown your heart.

How could walking across a stage and receiving a piece of paper actually be "the perfect ending" to years and years of hard work and maturing? It's not. It's always anti-climactic. That's what people who have graduated always say: that it's crazy weird, and feels surreal.

I hate when people say that you're not allowed to feel disappointed when this person has it so much worse. We have a good Father, who wants to grieve with us, and understands why our hearts respond to life the way that they do. He doesn't tell us that we're not allowed to experience emotion.

However, with that, He offers us something greater than our emotional response: objective, unshakable hope in him.

That means that we can GET EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE because He has good plans for us. Because He's not leaving us. Because cancelled commencement does not equate cancelled provision, cancelled love, or cancelled celebration.

He wants to give you the recognition you long for. He wants to fill you with hope.

There is not an event that will ever be the "perfect close" to four years. We have to move on. We have to say goodbye. We have to transition. And it will always be hard. There's no perfectly packaged ending that will tie up all the ends, honor all of the work, and institute perfect closure. And if we live our lives looking for that, we'll be inevitably disappointed. Perhaps this is an important lesson we have the opportunity to learn here.

I've definitely felt this at various "ending" points in the past, where there seemed to be a lack of appropriate closure. Whether it was a transition in the midst of high school or college, or an actual end to a year (or the four years), something always felt a little bit off and not adequately celebrated.

And that's because there is no adequate celebration for the glory that the Lord brings about it our lives. It's too big for us. And when we feel that ache, it's because we're children who need to tune in to how our Father feels about us.

Whether you've loved high school or college or hated it, the Lord has moved in the space of these years. I know I'm saying this as a member of the Class of 2020 myself, but I am beyond confident when I say: these are not the best years of your life.

These are formative years. These are special years. But believe me: there is so much more.

There are more just-short-of-perfect nights and just-short-of-perfect moments. There's more encounters and more deep friendships.

These are the years that launch us into the more that the Lord has prepared.

This pandemic situation has awakened me to the importance of living in the moment. We can't wait for the picture perfect ride off into the sunset moment...you're alive now, you're breathing now, and now, there is so much to celebrate.

The enemy will try to keep you stuck in regret and disappointment, but your Father grieves with you and acknowledges the truth that there is infinitely more than anything that you have ever experienced.

There is no ideal ending.

There is no ideal beginning.

There is no ideal.

There's only adventure and there's only grace. The best way that we can respond to this crisis, seniors, is by radical celebration. We can't let the enemy steal our joy, or distract us from the grace of right now by remaining stuck in all of the things that *should* have happened.

One of my favorite stories is of a sick pastor, whose family was praying for healing for him. After they prayed for him, they went and prayed over many other sick people to take a toll on the enemy and his attack with sickness on their father. Many people were healed that day.

What is the enemy doing in your life right now? It's a question that's important to consider. You have the power, because of your identity as a child of God, to retaliate. If you're stuck in deep bitterness, claim hope. If you're stuck in disappointment, claim hope. It's time to celebrate your Father's love for you, all He's done, and all that He's going to do.

There is nothing that is lost or stolen that is not redeemed and restored, better than before. So what is the Father doing in this season in your heart? Maybe you don't see it yet, but He's gifting you tremendously.

I want to challenge you: write down the glory stories of the last our years. Share them. Write thank-you letters to the people who changed you and loved you. And ask the Lord for a receptive heart for the future.