You made it, Julian! You graduated from high school and have the diploma to prove it. And now, you can put away your textbooks, oops, Chromebook and get on with your real life. Graduation is a wonderful accomplishment and exciting, but comes along with a lot of changes. (Thanks. Grandpa, for that insightful, but oh, so obvious revelation.) And, Julian, understand these are changes to which you need to respond. You need to make the choices.

Believe it or not, time has changed for you. Up until now your life was full of waiting for time to end–the end of a class, a school year, or a shift at Culvers or Fleet Farm. Now you are looking for your life to move forward. When will I find my job? When will I save enough to move on my own? You probably have an endless list of “Whens” you are asking. It can be either frustrating as you wait or exciting as you plan time going forward for yourself. Either way, it will be okay because one thing will never change.

Julian, for a while your world will be a little smaller. Until now, you were surrounded by your fellow students, teachers, and activities. You knew how you fit into that life and where you could turn for support when you needed to.

Graduation changes that. There will be some of your friends who will stay a part of your life, but most will not. You will build new relationships but that could take time. Maybe you are looking forward to building new relationships. Maybe you see this as something that makes you uncomfortable and so you just wait to see what happens. Either way, it will be okay because one thing will never change.

Another change is the relationship and expectations between you and your parents. You see yourself as an adult now, you graduated from high school, you are able to make good choices about your future, and you need to feel respected by your parents. Your parents are thrilled you have graduated from high school and are maturing as a person. They want you to make good choices when it comes to planning your future. Even though they see you as moving forward in your own life and that their role as parents is changing, they still want to be respected by you.

Hmmm–sounds kind of the same. So maybe it’s not the expectations between you and your parents that changes but the roles in meeting those expectations. Now this is just an old grandfather making an observation, but sounds like, Julian, your part here is to show you can live as the person you described. And, if the expectations between you and your parents turn out to be different, it will still be okay because one thing will never change.

In so many ways, change is happening for you, Julian. Whether you approach those changes with anticipation, excitement, fear, indifference, changes will occur. But one thing has never and will never change. God is on your side. More than that “The Lord your God himself will fight for you.” Deuteronomy 3:22.

Since faith was ignited in your heart by the Holy Spirit, your God has fought for you. Whether through joyful times or sad times He was there. When you experienced great success or chose to walk into pain, he was fighting for you. No matter where your life leads you, he will be there, fighting your battles with and for you.

Why? Because Jesus fought for you on the cross to make you his child. He loves you. He will be there celebrating your victories, soothing your fears and hurts, but always fighting for you. That will never change.

Congratulations, Julian. We love you and will never stop praying to God for you.

This song reminds us of how God really is a fighter for us.