Graduation Prayer

A Parent's Graduation Prayer

By Tina Pinson

Precious Son… Beloved to me,

I watch you walk away and I am filled with a sense of pride.

for the man you've become, the man you will be.

You've grown now, and you're heading off into a world to blaze that trail

To live your life.

Much has been accomplished in what seems too short of time.

I'm prouder than any parent could be.

But deep in my heart, in that sheltered place,

I feel as though someone has taken a knife and hollowed my soul.

I long to run after you, to continue this walk together,

But the path is only wide enough for you and one other.

and I know I am not the one who can walk it with you.

Nor the one who should

Oh, but all my senses cry out, begging me to run to your side,

take your hand in mine and never relinquish that hold.

But my feet are planted, and I stand silently in the shadows, weeping,

watching as you walk away.

My hands are limp and empty by my side.

Then in moments of sorrow, I look up and see who walks with you.

I look up and see, like me, you are sheltered under His arm.

Close to His heart. And He'll never let you walk alone.

And my hand, finding the strength to let you go,

Lifts with prayer for your tomorrows,

lifts with praise as I lay you in the hands of the only one who can carry you.

The one who always has.

God.

Just Imagine by Tina Pinson (from the archives)

As a child I believed;

Gravity held me to the earth, but if I spun hard enough I would fly into space.

If you killed a spider all its friends and family would come crawl all over you while you slept.

Drinking chocolate milk gave you a tan.

The clothes in my closet came to life after midnight and held battles against each other. My blanket protected me from their weapons.

Trees came to life at night and their shadows moved across the wall. You had to keep your window closed or they could snatch you out of bed.

When you eat your body fills from the toes up. When you get to full you had to puke.

You could fly with an umbrella.

If I dug a hole deep enough, (as a kid that was probably ten feet) I'd reach China.

If I was quiet enough, I could hear the animals talking.

People in Germany still lived in cave so my father put a camper on our truck when we moved to Germany so we would have a place to live. (In 1969)

If I acted angry and growled real loud when I was mad, my sisters would leave me alone because they were scared. Yeah, that one rarely worked. They laughed and bothered me more.

But you can see these were some silly things. And there are others.

I've grown up now. Matured. Put away childish thoughts and things.

For the most part. In reality though.

I still catch myself blowing on dandelions, hoping my wish comes true.

I sometimes keep the wishbone.

Every so often I find myself skipping cracks.

I say knock on wood and cross my fingers.

I check my books on Amazon, religiously, thinking somehow if I stare long enough the numbers will fall and my books will sell.

I wish on stars although I don't really believe my wishes will come true.

I still wonder about those spiders and their families sometimes.

I make tents with my grandchildren and pretend I'm camping or on a wild safari.

I dance in rain puddles and sing. "Singing the Rain."

But I have stopped sending out chain letters because I'm pretty certain they don't work.

You're probably wondering why I'm saying all this. Admitting my childish thoughts.

Because imagination is a wonderful thing. It's a gift. It's not to be misused. We shouldn't let it lead us astray and into trouble. No. Like children, we need to turn our imaginations over to God and trust him to direct our thoughts, trust him to take wrong thoughts captive and show us dreams we never thought before. Like children, we need to look for the wonder in creation around us.

From the mind of imagination comes new concepts, new stories. New Dreams.

Have you ever thought of an idea and kept it or used it for yourself and did nothing more, only to find someone else took the further step and got a patent? And consumers soon had a new product.

You can't stop at imagination and hope to fulfill a dream. Hope has to be engaged and steps taken to move you forward. I realize those steps can be scary. So you might just want to sit down and give up. But don't.  I want you to engage your thoughts. Your dreams.

How many failed attempts were there before the telephone? How many planes crashed before man flew?

Hope and vision carried the imagination of inventors the world over through trials and disappointment.

Just imagine how life would be if inventors and scientists just gave up?

No Cars. No Planes. No Trains. No Electricity. No Toilet. No Gum. No ATM's. No Books. No Paper. No… well you fill in the blanks.

What would you miss?

Proverbs 29 :18 (KJV) Where there is no vision the people perish.

Acts 2:17 (KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith the Lord, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men will dream dreams.

What has God seeded in your imagination that you need to give more attention to?