Kendra

Graduation is right around the corner. That means different things to different families. You may have a son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter graduating from high school or even from college.

Graduation marks the end of one phase of life and the beginning of the next. If it’s a high school graduation, that might mean more schooling in the future as the eager graduate heads to community college or a four-year university. It might mean becoming a member of the armed forces, or that the graduate now has the opportunity to work full time on the family farm rather than being limited to summer vacation, weekends, before school starts each day and after school dismisses.

Regardless of the next step in a young person’s life, graduation is typically associated with celebration.

John

And we are no strangers to those celebrations. Kendra and I were volunteer high school youth leaders at our church for 21 years and had numerous opportunities to join teenagers and their families in the graduation celebrations.

One of the interesting dilemmas we encountered was determining the gift to give to each graduate. On our first year working with the youth, we made an unforeseen error. There were only four seniors, and all of them were headed to college in the fall.

Kendra decided the perfect gift would be a sweatshirt for each graduate, purchased from their respective universities. Good idea? Maybe. Expensive? Yes! She didn’t consider the bottom line as she began ordering.

Kendra

Thank the Lord there were only four seniors. By the time I came to my senses, it was too late. All I could do was to vow not to repeat my very costly mistake.

That gift-giving experience was painful, but it didn’t keep us from celebrating the graduations of youth group kids for the next 20 years. Ultimately, we discovered what was declared by many graduates to be the “perfect gift.”

John

It didn’t matter if the graduate was staying near home to work on the farm, becoming a member of the military, or heading miles and miles away to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The perfect gift was just that: perfect for each individual. This gift came in the form of a postcard inside the envelope with their graduation card. This postcard was not addressed to the graduate but to Kendra, and it simply read: Dear Kendra, I NEED home-baked cookies! Love, (Please put your name here).

P.S. My address is: _______________ and I prefer (please check only one)
___ chocolate chip or ___ peanut butter.

Kendra

It didn’t matter if the cookies were sent down the road to their folks’ home or to a location two states away. Every graduate got the perfect gift, a gift of love that fit right into our youth leader graduation gift budget of $0 per year.

So that’s our suggestion to all of you who might soon have a pile of graduation invitations on your kitchen counter. It’s very possible home-baked cookies just might be the perfect gift for the graduates you love.

John and Kendra Smiley farm near East Lynn, Ill. Email [email protected], or visit kendrasmiley.com.