Story, a Song, and a Scripture
A gift to your graduate
Parents of high school seniors:
It's a busy month as everything crashes toward graduation day. You are cherishing every final event, thing, and moment. It is a wonderful season of life.
Let me offer you an idea for a gift only you can give your senior that will endure. Most of the gifts they receive will be spent, used up, or lost over the next few years. In addition to all they're receiving, you can give them something that helps them mark this moment and sends them forward. It's something we did for our daughters as they graduated.
Give them 3 things: a Story, a Song, and a Scripture. We gave our girls an envelope with their three things at our family graduation dinner.
A Story - Write out a story from their life that you think is significant for who they are or who they're becoming. Maybe it's a moment when you saw their resilience; or a moment that defines their personality. It can be a moment they remember or a moment from their earliest years. Tell them the story and why you see it as significant for who they are and are becoming.
A Song - What's a song whose lyrics give hope or encouragement to your kid? Maybe a song you see for them. You can choose a hymn, a Taylor Swift song, a song they sang in choir. The genre doesn't matter but the choice and the lyrics do. For one of our daughters, we chose a song from a musical we all loved and we highlighted one of the verses in the letter.
A Scripture - What's a passage of scripture that you hope they'll hold while they step into their next stage of life? 1 Corinthians 13? Words from Joshua about being courageous? Maybe a reminder of the fruit of the spirit? Pray and consider what passage might speak to their next stage of life.
And that's it. Type it all out. Put it in an envelope. Give it to them to read on their own.
It's a gift they can't spend, use up, or lose.
Because it's your gift of life to them.
It's a busy month as everything crashes toward graduation day. You are cherishing every final event, thing, and moment. It is a wonderful season of life.
Let me offer you an idea for a gift only you can give your senior that will endure. Most of the gifts they receive will be spent, used up, or lost over the next few years. In addition to all they're receiving, you can give them something that helps them mark this moment and sends them forward. It's something we did for our daughters as they graduated.
Give them 3 things: a Story, a Song, and a Scripture. We gave our girls an envelope with their three things at our family graduation dinner.
A Story - Write out a story from their life that you think is significant for who they are or who they're becoming. Maybe it's a moment when you saw their resilience; or a moment that defines their personality. It can be a moment they remember or a moment from their earliest years. Tell them the story and why you see it as significant for who they are and are becoming.
A Song - What's a song whose lyrics give hope or encouragement to your kid? Maybe a song you see for them. You can choose a hymn, a Taylor Swift song, a song they sang in choir. The genre doesn't matter but the choice and the lyrics do. For one of our daughters, we chose a song from a musical we all loved and we highlighted one of the verses in the letter.
A Scripture - What's a passage of scripture that you hope they'll hold while they step into their next stage of life? 1 Corinthians 13? Words from Joshua about being courageous? Maybe a reminder of the fruit of the spirit? Pray and consider what passage might speak to their next stage of life.
And that's it. Type it all out. Put it in an envelope. Give it to them to read on their own.
It's a gift they can't spend, use up, or lose.
Because it's your gift of life to them.
Eddie Rester is the lead Pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS and lives with his wife Audra in Jackson. Their 2 daughters are students at Ole Miss (a sophomore and a graduating senior).