What Really Matters

Yesterday we gathered in Lexington, Kentucky to watch the commencement exercises of the University of Kentucky, which happens to be my alma mater, and celebrate the accomplishments of my first born son Luke Howell.

As an alumnae of this university, and an avid Wildcats fan, I enjoyed sitting in Rupp Arena and admiring the sea of blue below, which included my son, draped with two sets of honors cords for his academic accomplishments.

What a relief to finally get to the ceremony, the traffic held us up for an hour, complicated by the rain. Thankfully Luke's girlfriend Mirna had saved us seats.

This traffic jam could have been avoided if we had planned our morning differently. The ceremony started at 1:00, and we chose to attend church first, partly because that's what we do on Sundays, give God his due in worship, and partly because we wanted to experience the church Luke has attended the last few years while in Lexington: Embrace.

The morning still could have been easier had we attended the service at the downtown campus of Embrace, where Luke usually worshiped. This congregation meets in the Kentucky Theatre on Main Street, and we could have walked to the ceremony and avoided the stress of the interminable line of cars.

However we elected to attend the newer campus of Embrace, where the founding pastor now preaches, partly to hear him, and mostly so Luke could say good-bye to the youth he has worked with at Common Good weekly. These were the youth he has poured himself into, most recently helping them with their fundraising talent show. He also wanted to see his mentor Trevor and express his gratitude for his support.

We had a special treat at this service, as a recent convert got baptized. Watching a new convert get baptized always qualifies as a special occasion. Seeing his joy at taking communion later added to the celebration. Being in Lexington the day after the Kentucky Derby and seeing the baptism take place in a horse trough added a hometown touch that I enjoyed.

We could have left sooner from this campus and been earlier to the ceremony, if it weren't for the fact that Pastor Roz called Luke forward to have the church pray over him since he was departing for the next chapter of his life. And that moment was worth all the stress of rushing to the commencement ceremony.

When the pastor invited the congregation to lay hands on Luke, the young men he has mentored rushed up the aisle and were first to reach Luke. John, the adult who has worked mostly directly with Luke and the youth group prayed for him. I stood with tears watching this holy moment.

We missed a bit of the ceremony in Rupp, but we saw Luke walk across the stage and shake hands with the President. But the real pride in this day, as much as I celebrate his academic accomplishments which he worked hard for, came in that moment seeing his legacy passed on to these younger men.

I am glad that in between studying and watching amazing basketball at UK, playing baseball on the club team and basketball with friends, Luke took weekly time to pour into others. That matters more than the degree he earned. I couldn't be more proud of that.