So long, friends... / To the newly-grads

May 16, 2026 · ‼️SENTIMENTALITY ALERT‼️ I hope no one reads this...

Many of my dearest friends from college graduated not this but the last Saturday. Since then, I’ve had the priviledge to attend two very beautiful weddings (both sort-of in town) and one in which I got to be the maid of honor. But from here on after the graduates will all officially leave the little town in which our college sits and go on to live each of their incredible lives.

To the my friends the graduates: You all have made such an impact in my life. Although with most of you I have not had many deep, extraordinary conversations about faith, life, or the future, I nonetheless learned a lot about these subject matters from how you faithfully live your ordinary lives.¹ From Friday lunches to Sunday rides. From painting for the first time in at least 3 years to night-walking for 2h+. From learning and playing pickleball to doing math past midnight in the student union, us math majors/minors being the only ones there. Eating, walking, chatting, reflecting, or yelling in both excitement and despair…In all that you were doing when we were together I can clearly tell that you were, at the same time, trying to love me.

In most cases, you did that very well. I felt deeply “seen and known”² by each and every one of you, and through each and every one of you I have multiple times been reminded of God’s love for me, and therefore us. Thank you all so much for everything.

May our Father in heaven, in whom we are united as one, be with you whereever you go, whatever you do. May he bless the path you will take and the work of your hands, and may he reveal to you and impress you with the abundance of his blessings for you continually.

I love you all. [hug]