I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 3:14

My daughter, Charlie, received her High School Diploma yesterday.  It was so surreal.  It took place in the parking lot of her school.  Here’s how it happened.  We drove onto the road that leads to the parking lot, and there was a traffic jam for over an hour.  Three lanes of cars inching along as they made their way to a courtyard area. Everyone stayed in their cars and wore face masks.  Charlie was given a pink 3″ x 5″ card to write her first and last name and handed it to the attendant.  They returned with a garbage bag with her belongings from her PE locker.  

Ten minutes later she got another garbage bag with her name on it which contained the belongings from her locker.  Her school counselor, Mr. Mitchell, was going around and cheering on students, and he gave Charlie the program that she would have received had she graduated at Memorial Auditorium.  We inched our way some more in our cars and had sweet conversations with friends in cars alongside us.  The three lanes turned to two lanes and a parent handed us a copy of the Sacramento Bee that had a listing of all the McClatchy High School graduates’ names. Another teacher came along and asked for Charlie’s texts books.  She got them out of the back of the car.  Another teacher came up and handed Charlie her High School yearbook.  And Mr. Mitchell came up and gave Charlie her High School Diploma.  She made it!

After all of this…she made it!  It reminds me of the scripture of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years and wondering if they would ever make it. At times, school was a struggle for Charlie, and we asked the same question.  But she stayed the course.  And here she is…she made it to the Promised Land of graduation and now into a new season of life.  Wherever we are in our journey, whether it be in the desert, or the Promised Land, or during a pandemic or post Covid-19 days, God is with us now and forever and will always be faithful to guide us to better days.  And here we are with smiling eyes, a surgical mask, and diploma in my daughter’s hands.  She made it! Oh…and right before we exited the parking lot, the teacher came back with a note saying that she was missing three text books, and that she owed over $100.  Welcome to adulthood, kid!  With new territory comes new responsibilities!