It is Ph-inishe-D

It is Ph-inishe-D.

When I realised that the graduation ceremony fell right before my birthday on the Gregorian calendar, I knew this would be the perfect day to share the news with friends who have yet to hear about it.

But even more so, a great time to set up a monument of remembrance.

Not so much a monument of achievement, but perhaps a self-reminder of the many blessings that had led me to the moment.

For the heart forgets so readily, and the pride seizes so persistently.

How tempting it is to see the crossing of this finish line as a triumph of my own intellect and perseverance.

When I need to remember that, every part of the journey bears the mark of grace.

The patience of supervisors.
The kindness of colleagues and friends.
The consistent support of family.

And above all, the quiet strength of the One who sustained me moment by moment.

Christians recognise “it is finished” — some of the final words of Jesus of Nazareth as he dies on the cross — as a significant phrase.

It marked the finishing of His work, of paying for the sins of the world.

And that completion enables the beginning of life for all who would put their trusts in Him.

For many reasons, I am convinced that He is one worth our following.

And if the Followee died to bring life, then the Follower must learn to do the same — to die daily in small and great ways.

To the tyrannical selves.
To the vaporous ambitions.
To the crippling comforts.

In service of a greater cause beyond the Follower himself.

So as the chapter closes, let me be reminded, that grace carried me through every bit of my journey.

And may “it is Ph-inishe-D” be a shadow of “it is finished”.

In that the finishing of this chapter serves as the beginning of another chapter that blesses the others.

In that this life may always point others to a greater cause beyond itself.

In that I may live unafraid to die.

To die to my ego.
To die to my ambition.
To die to my comfort.

That others may have much to gain, even life.

May I never take my breaths for granted, but learn to number my days, to invest them in what truly matters.

For it is finished, indeed.