Taylor Swift recently finished her Eras Tour. The tour featured performances of songs from each of the ten studio albums she’s released over the course of her 16+ year music career. I wouldn’t call myself a “swiftie,” the moniker given to Ms. Swift’s most passionate and loyal fans, but I must confess that I do enjoy some of her music. In particular, I loved her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift, which released in the fall of 2006. I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard my first Taylor song on the radio. I was pumping gas into a rental van at a Phillip’s 66 in Warsaw, Indiana in preparation for a youth mission trip. As soon as I finished at the gas station, I drove to the record store in the strip mall that lay just behind and purchased the album. Quite appropriately, that Taylor Swift album reminds me of a very specific and special era in my life. I was sad when the era ended, but beyond grateful that I got to experience it, and am blessed because of how it shaped me as a person.
I was sad when the era ended, but beyond grateful that I got to experience it, and am blessed because of how it shaped me as a person.
I recently drove past that Phillip’s 66 gas station. A very different, and even more iconic, song served as the soundtrack for the moment. It too stirs memories of a very specific and special era, and signals the end of that era. While you may not know the name of the composer, you certainly have heard the song. The song is Pomp and Circumstance by Sir Edward Elgar, or as it is colloquially known, The Graduation Song.
I have heard Pomp and Circumstance played countless times in my life. As a youth pastor, I attended numerous graduation ceremonies every year. As a student, I have had the privilege of processing down the aisle on more than a few occasions to recognize the end of my own academic efforts. Last weekend, I heard the song as my daughter concluded her days at Grace College and Theological Seminary, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies and Master of Arts degree in Local Church Ministry. In just over two weeks, I will hear the song again as I watch my son collect his high school diploma and close out his high school days. As I heard the song play and watched my daughter receive the reward for which she has so diligently worked, I felt a great swell of pride for her accomplishment. It’s a pride I will feel again for my son when he graduates.
The end of an era brings a powerful mix of emotions. There is bitterness and sweetness; there is deep sadness and great joy. That is the hallmark of an amazing era of life.
The end of an era brings a powerful mix of emotions. There is bitterness and sweetness; there is deep sadness and great joy. That is the hallmark of an amazing era of life. My wife and I will miss driving up to Grace College to move our daughter in to new dorm rooms and to move her back home in the summer. We will miss going to family events on campus and interacting with her professors. We will miss watching our son play drums in the Marching Owls and in the Pep Band. We will (mostly) miss chasing him around for various athletic activities. The academic era has been wonderful for the Myers family and I’m sad to see it end. But, the end of the academic era will give way to the start of the adulthood era. Now we get to see who they will be and what they will do as a result of the many years of investment by so many wonderful teachers, coaches, friends, and family members.
Psalm 90:12 reads, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…” In both cases, the Bible challenges us to recognize the reality that time continues to fly by. Now is the only opportunity we have to make the moment matter. We need to appreciate and invest ourselves fully in whatever era we find ourselves, for soon it will be over and we’ll be on to the next. May we reflect with gratitude as one era ends and may we look forward with great anticipation and excitement as another begins.
