‘Tis the season for graduations and what fun it is to attend such events. My great niece is graduating from high school and soon, my niece will earn her PhD in nursing. These young women and others like them are embarking into their future, armed with one of the greatest treasures we can possess: passion.
Each young woman is passionate about who she is and what she wants to accomplish. Each is unique with giftings that show how incredibly smart she is and how much potential she possesses.
On one hand, I want to protect them from what is out there in the world. I know they will experience losses and resulting griefs. That is life. The griefs will be balanced with joys and the abundance of accomplishments. Even now, they celebrate their graduation season with happy smiles. Thinking only of goals to reach. Achievements to applaud.
Someday they may be tempted to abandon their passions for lesser goals. I hope and pray that does not happen. That would be a travesty. Many women have forgotten what it felt like to have a dream and feel energized to make that dream happen. So many women believe they are not enough and try to find artificial ways to make themselves measure up.
And so . . . within this blog platform . . . I wish to give all female graduates some advice. As an older woman, I’ve earned the right to do so. And as a woman who prays for the next generation, I believe it is my duty to share insights learned from long moments on my knees and long hours trying to find the restorative keys to my own passions.
Dear Ones, please heed this advice:
Always keep your passion alive. Whether you long to become an editor of an international publication or you yearn to join the Philharmonic Orchestra or you hope to run the Boston Marathon and beat the guys — keep your passion secure and alive. Without your passion, your soul will become stale and you will lose the energy and zest for life that is so necessary to not only survive, but also to thrive.
Never settle for what is merely good. Whether in jobs, possessions, or love. Instead, wait for and strive for what is best. Fifty years from now, you will look back and be glad you waited for the best. Because the best gives your life significance without regret. God created you as unique, and he wants the best for you. So never settle for only the good.
Be authentic. If you don’t want to join the crowd, if you don’t want to be part of the sorority, if you hate broccoli — just be yourself and stay authentic. Wearing an emotional mask is more tiring than being yourself. And trust me on this — you are already incredible. You are beautiful and you are a treasure. You are already enough.
When life gets hard, remember your passion. Your parents raised you to embrace it. They sacrificed much so that you could run toward your goals. Every day, they think of you and pray for you. So does the rest of your family.
Also know this . . . if you listen very carefully . . . somewhere in the atmosphere you will hear the rest of us women who have gone before you. We are cheering for you and hoping you will be the ones to break the last barriers of gender abuse. So that all women everywhere will be embraced as the incredible creatures we are. So that we can use our giftings under the umbrella of our passions to impact the world.
I love you. I continue to pray for you. I believe in you.
©2025 RJ Thesman – All Rights Reserved
Image Attribution: photographybycarlos / Pixabay
Check out Abigail’s story and how she discovered her passion in No Visible Scars.
Passion of the type you discuss here is essentially the deep need to serve others and express it in a focused, determined way. Not long ago I had a small surgical procedure done on my hand to correct a carpal tunnel issue. A twenty minute procedure in which a local anesthetic was used. What struck me most about the experience was not the procedure itself, but the warmth and joy of the nurses before, during and after the small surgery. It felt genuine and caring, like your passion for writing that is much more than using words well. It is a way of teaching people how to articulately express their capacity for loving others as God loves us.
Thanks, Stu.