By Dr. Wayne J. Kilpatrick
Graduations always bring joy and sadness—joy for a journey completed and sadness because things will be different and life will not be the same anymore. We rejoice with our graduates and their families on completing these significant milestones in their lives. Now the graduates will move on to life beyond and ahead.
Life will not be the same anymore. No more of the same schedules, classes, teachers, or friends at school. The graduates are launched to a new life beyond and to a world of new challenges and experiences. Some will move on to college, vocational schools or the military. Others will get a job and begin their careers. 
Many will be leaving home to enjoy a life of newfound independence and freedom.
Graduation exercises are called “commencements.” To “commence” is “to begin.” Graduations mark the end and the beginning—the end of the old and the commencement of the new.
Life is constantly moving on. Pericles, the ancient Greek philosopher, wisely said, “No one can step into the same river twice.” The river moves on and the second step is into different water than the first step. The wise teacher in Ecclesiastes expressed the same thought when he said, “There is a time for everything under the sun.” He names the beginnings and endings and the opposing experiences of life. The ending of one thing is the beginning of a new thing. It is wise to rejoice and praise God in both because that’s the nature of life and there is no stopping or changing it.
Our lives begin and end. Both births and deaths occur every day. Wherever we are in life, the main thing is to remember this: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
