I believe in you. You were thrown a very strange curve ball your senior year. Instead of celebrating your commencement on campus this May, you packed up early because of a pandemic. I am sure in your heart you have felt the full range of emotions. Sadness, hope, frustration, relief. All the feels. What I would like to offer you today is a simple Baccalaureate message. Was your college planning to have a Baccalaureate ceremony? Think of it as a graduation celebration with a Christian twist. Here are some words of hope from one of your pastors as you end one chapter and start another…your online Baccalaureate message. Christ will be with you every time you take a risk. Moving to a new city? Interviewing for a demanding job? Applying for grad school? God is going to go with you. Better yet, God goes BEFORE you Deuteronomy 31:8 says, “It is the LORD who goes before you.” Life after college is risky business. But Christ’s presence with you means that no failure you may ever experience is final. Christ will always find a way to lead you forward. Go for the impossible dream. If this sounds like a common cliché, remember where it comes from. It comes from the Biblical witness. Over and over again in Scripture, God’s people perform unthinkable tasks. Walking on water. Healing the sick. Carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth. How? “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord” Zechariah 4:6. Knowing you have God’s very own Spirit within you, as you listen to the Spirit stirring your heart, pursue the dream. Then…just watch what God can do. It will utterly amaze you. Practice patience. Over the years to come, you are bound to go through times of waiting. Waiting for direction. Waiting for clarity. Doesn’t sound very appealing, I know. But it is important. Sometimes God has to expand your heart to prepare your heart for what comes next. This is because God has big plans for you to accomplish. These plans are the good works that God prepared to be your way of life (Ephesians 2:10) There is a Spanish phrase, “Poco a Poco. Vamos al llegar.” It translates to “Little by little, we will arrive.” You have arrived. And now you begin again. I believe in you. So many people believe in you. God has put you here to be a light shining in the darkness. Your light already shines bright! So, risk boldly, dare the impossible dream, and stay patient in hope remembering to look to Jesus who says, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). Congratulations! Pastor Drew What other messages of hope and encouragement do others have for our 2020 college graduates? Please post them in the comments section on Facebook.