On my day off last week, I hiked the Grindstone Trail at Pilot Mountain State Park, one of my favorite trails nearby. The trail is physically challenging, but the views at the top are extremely rewarding. Beginning at the Visitor’s Center, the Grindstone Trail climbs over 1,300 feet in elevation as you reach the pinnacle parking lot.
I know some are thinking, “Why not just drive to the top?”
Aside from the simple fact that I enjoy this kind of hike, walking from the bottom to the top serves as a tangible reminder of how life is about the journey, not the destination. You never know who or what you might encounter.
On my way up, a pileated woodpecker flew across my path. Hiking back down the mountain, I came across a family decked out in Wake Forest gear. They were hiking at a slower pace, so as I passed them, I asked if they were here for the Wake Forest commencement. Yes, in fact, they were. I congratulated them on their son’s graduation and continued back to the end of the trail.
In worship on Sunday, we celebrated high school, college, and graduate school graduates. The front of our sanctuary was lined with person after person who represented not only the “destination” of a degree, but a life journey that led them to a particular point—and a journey that continues. Following worship, we celebrated the high school graduates with their families and the rest of the youth group with a taco bar lunch.
Some of our youth created a slideshow to document the journey of each of our graduates. The slideshow was marked by baptisms, sports, family photos, youth camps and retreats, children’s ministry events, holidays, silly times with friends and family, prom photos, and, of course, cap and gown photos. As we shared in conversation and filled our bellies with tacos, the images on the screen served as a reminder that our journeys aren’t just about one thing—they are about many things. God and church and school and family and friends and hopes and dreams all comprise a greater whole, a 3-dimensional kind of life.
As our graduates go off to new places to study new subjects and dream new dreams, we send them onward in the Love and faith that formed them, grateful that we get to be part of one another’s journeys. We also send them onward in the Love and hope that continues to inform and transform them—wherever their journeys may lead.