May
21
2018

Turning The Page

Posted in Discipleship | 6 Comments

You know the feeling.
You come to the end of a book.
You have invested time and emotion into the story.
You have reached the last page.

It is a bittersweet moment.
The characters become a part of you.
You savor every nuance of the story.
Turning the last page is the end of something and the beginning of something else.

That same feeling came over me this past weekend.
Our youngest daughter graduated from college.
It is truly the end of an era.
Even the college president said so.

Four of our five children went to the same college.
They all chose that college on their own, studying different things there.
The president commented that it will be very strange not to have a Gallagher on campus.
It will be strange for my husband and I as well, since our car drove there on autopilot.

My husband booked hotel rooms a full year before the graduation.
Hotel rooms are difficult to find as you get closer to the actual day.
The whole family had the date on their calendars.
This was their sister who went to every high school, college, and grad school graduation.

A whole year before, we did not know a grandbaby would be on the way.
We did not know then that our daughter and her husband would be expecting a baby.
Graduation on May 19 and the baby’s due date on May 22.
Many people were praying that each event would stand alone and not fall on the same day.

God answered those prayers so graciously.
I told my husband that if our daughter did go into labor on graduation day, we would not know.
She will tell her siblings, but she will not tell us until the graduation is over, I said.
He did not agree with me; however during dinner she and her husband said that was their plan.

No one counted on rain.
Not just showers, but heavy rain that fell the entire week before graduation.
Graduation is usually held outdoors on the athletic fields.
We knew there was a good chance that plans were going to change.

Rain saturated the fields.
Rain that caused the beautiful creek that runs along the campus to be under a flood watch.
It is tradition to walk across the beautiful covered bridge.
That tradition was not part of the processional this year.

Our son and his wife offered their home, which is about 35 minutes away from campus.
They planned a “watch party,” since the graduation was going to be live streamed.
Since tickets are limited when the ceremony is indoors, they would all watch it together.
All of our plans, some made an entire year before, needed to be revised.

The morning of the baccalaureate, the decision was made for the safety of graduates.
The graduation ceremony would be held indoors.
The class would be split in two, with separate, abbreviated ceremonies.
Our daughter’s graduation was changed from 10:00 in the morning to 2:00 in the afternoon.

Our lunch reservations needed to be changed to dinner reservations.
The hotel rooms were cancelled.
My husband and I drove back and forth, since everything was pushed back to later in the day.
The rest of the family gathered together for the live stream watch party.

When my husband called the restaurant, they did not have his Open Table reservation.
A group of ten people is not easy to accommodate on a Saturday night at short notice.
My husband found a lovely restaurant in my favorite place of Amish buggies.
The restaurant is actually within an art gallery; it fit perfectly with the style of our daughter.

The college ran shuttles on graduation day from the parking lots to the auditorium.
They did everything so efficiently.
They moved a lot of people from two different ceremonies in and out with ease.
We entered the auditorium and had to sit on bleachers, since the graduates were on chairs.

I realized I was turning the last page of a book.
This chapter of our lives was coming to a close.
Five children all graduated from college; two of them went on to receive graduate degrees.
It was a bittersweet moment.

The graduates processed into the auditorium.
Our daughter was close to the front of the line.
She saw us after she was seated.
I would have been able to spot her in that crowd with ease.

The commencement speaker was David Kim, choirmaster for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
The college president spoke about the prayers of David’s mother.
David’s mother prayed that he would be a concert violinist.
At the age of three, David began to play the violin and was considered a child prodigy.

He spoke with humility, humor, and transparency.
He spoke about the David that everyone sees and the David he knows himself to be.
He spoke about the God he loves and serves, the One who sees and knows the real David.
Despite knowing the real David, God still loves him.

He talked about fame and success.
Yet, the most important thing in his life is his relationship with Jesus Christ.
He loves the Lord.
His faith directs him and the platform God has given him allows him to talk about Jesus.

He challenged the graduates.
Let the REAL you know the REAL God.
Take off the mask.
Serve God with your gifts; the gifts He gave to you.

Lesson after lesson.
Peel off the mask.

It may be difficult and painful to do.
It is necessary.

You could have heard a pin drop.
Before David Kim began to speak, he picked up his violin.
There in his robe with the red hood around his neck, he began to play.
The real David knows the real God and worshiped Him on that stage with his music.

Amazing Grace filled every crevice of the auditorium.
My throat tightened.
My eyes filled with quiet tears.
Oh, graduates, do you hear? I said to myself.

Offer back to God the gifts He has given you.
Peel off the mask.
Let yourself be really known by the God who knows you anyway.
The REAL God knows the REAL you and He loves you; He REALLY loves you.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

After David Kim spoke to the graduates, he had to immediately leave the stage.
He was performing in a concert that evening in Philadelphia.
The two gradation ceremonies affected him as well and he was gracious to be so flexible.
I watched him leave the stage and his message lingered.

I turned the page of this book in my mind and in my heart.
I closed this particular book with gratitude.
What a wonderful book it has been.
By God’s amazing grace, I cannot wait to open the next book and start reading Chapter One.

(David Kim at Messiah College 2018 Commencement)

Whispers of His Movement and Whispers in Verse books are now available in paperback and e-book!

http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/book/

6 responses to “Turning The Page”

  1. Hi Gina from Texas! I’m coming back home to West Chester in June to visit family and friends. Can you please tell me the name of the restaurant? Sounds perfect to gather with family! I love reading your devotions. It always thrills me when I recognize some pace you mention! Thank you for your insights.

    • Lynn,
      I am delighted that you are blessed by the Whispers each day.
      The restaurant we went to in Lancaster is called: POUR.
      It is located on Prince Street. (http://www.pouronprince.com/)
      I hope your time with family and friends in PA is wonderfully refreshing.
      Gina

  2. And so begins Chapter 1 in your new book
    ‘Grandparenting the Next Gallagher Generation ‘ by the grace of God

    • Michelle, it was a wonderful weekend! The tender mercy of our God was so evident! Thank you for your prayers, sweet friend!
      Gina

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