Dear Ava,

So you’ve graduated high school! The last four years were full of God blessing you. You were Student Council President and a member of the National Honor Society and you accompanied worship services at Peace Lutheran your home congregation. You played and managed volleyball, played basketball, participated in track and field, and played for more services at Peace. You created paintings and other works of art, practiced endless hours on the piano and other instruments, were named Co-Valedictorian of the Senior class, and continued to serve as an accompanist at Peace. I sound kind of stuck on Peace, but more about that later.

Being the student you are, Ava, I am sure you notice that everything in that list is written in the past tense. Those are all wonderful accomplishments and precious memories. That’s what your life was. I’m just wondering what your life is now and what you hope will it be like in the future?

Trying to answer those questions could seem kind of mind-boggling right now, so let’s look at them from another perspective. Ava, if you had your paints, brushes, and a canvas in front of you, and I commissioned you to create a mural to portray what your life is now and what you would like it to be in the future, what would come to your mind?

As you look at the world around you now, beyond Garden City, Michigan, and maybe even the U.S., what images would you paint? What colors would you use? When others looked at this part of the mural would they say, “Wow, I agree, that really is sad what is happening.” Or would they say, “You know, I’ve never allowed myself to see all the ways God is blessing us.”

What would go on the mural for what is ahead for you personally? There’s Bethany, a new state (not Wisconsin, but passable), new friends, and preparing to be a graphic designer. I am not well-versed in colors, but are there different hues for anticipation or excitement, or maybe even uncertainty? Would the mural include a piano or other musical instrument?

Ava, as you look into the future, you can feel overwhelmed and maybe even afraid. Please look back at the passage at the top of the page. Paul shares in Philippians that what God begins he will finish. Your grandmother and I have always recognized and appreciated your special gifts from God. And in the past four years, you and those gifts have blossomed. Go back and reread the first paragraph and see how you have been blessed.

But, look beyond simply the accomplishments and see how God not only enabled you to do all those wonderful things but also how he has provided for your future. Remember how I kept repeating that time after time you accompanied at Peace? Each time you were there, God was making sure you were fed his Word. In that Word you were reminded how Jesus’ sacrifice compels us to reflect his love in serving others, and that’s what you were doing.

But even more, God was building your faith in him. Each time you are uncomfortable or unsure of what to do you can hear Jesus saying, “Ava, I’ve got this.” When the moments of loneliness or feelings of being separated from your family come, you know that your God says, “Never will I leave you or forsake you”

Ava, no one, but God, knows exactly what the path of your life will be. But I know that each day you wake up, God has something for you to do for him that only you can do. He has equipped you with so many tools to accomplish those tasks. And when you have finished with everything that God has especially planned for you to do for him, then you will eternally graduate to be with him in heaven.

So, Ava, pick up all those tools and attack life. You may not know exactly how things are going to happen but you know who does. By the way, if you ever come up with that mural, I get first dibs on the signed original.

And always remember your grandmother and I love you–but Jesus loves you more.

Just a song that probably says all this better than I could.