{"id":6195,"date":"2024-06-24T09:13:53","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T15:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?p=6195"},"modified":"2024-06-17T09:27:13","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T15:27:13","slug":"dear-graduate-ignore-the-voices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/dear-graduate-ignore-the-voices\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Graduate: Ignore the Voices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
A few years ago, I published Amy Young\u2019s<\/a> thoughts from the Messy Middle.<\/a> At the time, she was writing from Beijing, China,\u00a0where she was a teacher. She\u2019s stateside now, but I\u2019ve always appreciated her voice and insightful writing.<\/p>\n
I was very impressed with her address to her school\u2019s graduating seniors. She gave great wisdom when she warned them about \u201cThe voices\u201d they will hear for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n
Reading her words, I realize I hear the same voices \u2013 and you\u2019ll hear them, too. You\u2019re too old or too young. That you\u2019re not good-looking enough or smart enough. \u00a0I wish someone would have told me about these voices when I was young<\/i>, so kudos to Amy for her encouragement. Here\u2019s a snippet of her address, a reprint from 2013.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n
<\/a>
Photo by Mulyadi<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
**
*\n<\/p>
"
\u00a0<\/p>\n*
**
The heart of my message for you \u00a0as you embark on the rest of life your life is\u00a0beware the voices that whisper to you \u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to be a college graduate or have an MA or a PhD<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to be a graduate from school XYZ<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to choose the right major<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to get the best job<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to find something fulfilling and useful to the kingdom and leave the smallest carbon footprint while documenting how cool you are on instagram<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to marry a God-honoring man<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to keep an amazing home and use it as a place to minister to weary souls<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life it to cure cancer or write music or teach school<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to return to China and use your childhood for His glory<\/em><\/p>\n
**
\u00a0The greatest call on your life is motherhood<\/em><\/p>\n
**
The greatest call on your life is to die debt free and surrounded by loved ones.<\/em><\/p>\n
**
There<\/strong>are<\/b>echoes of truth in each of these whispers \u2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
**
As we, your loving community, launch you into adulthood and celebrate all you and your parents have accomplished as represented by this high school graduations we say to you \u2013<\/em><\/p>\n
**
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The greatest call on your life is to follow Christ.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n
**
*Listen daily for the whisper that says \u201cI am my beloveds and He is mine.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/a>
Photo by Joshua Hoehne<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"***
**
***A few years ago, I published Amy Young\u2019s thoughts from the Messy Middle. At the time, she was writing from Beijing, China,\u00a0where she was a teacher. She\u2019s stateside now, but I\u2019ve always appreciated her voice and insightful writing. I was very impressed with her address to her school\u2019s graduating seniors. She gave great wisdom when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":6201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2652,2661,2655,2658],"class_list":["post-6195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-graduate","tag-graduation","tag-ignore-voice","tag-ungodly-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Graduate: Ignore the Voices<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few years ago, I published Amy Young's thoughts from the Messy Middle. 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