Saturday, May 22
The Color Green…
My son Matthew graduated from high school today.It was a really good ceremony, extremely unique in the sense that this was the very first graduation in the history of Hardin Valley Academy. The school is only two years old. The first year they didn’t have any seniors, just juniors, and only around 200 of that class.
Matthew loved his time at the school.
This second son of ours will join his brother Michael at the University of Tennessee in the fall. Matthew was accepted into the school of music, and will be studying bass, specifically in the area of jazz. We couldn’t be more excited for him or more proud of him. I’ve found with all three of my kids (20, 18 & 14 years old) that there are certain scenes, specific moments in their lives that I always come back to. Scenes that reflect deeply who they are, or who they will become. Scenes that allow you to somehow peek into their souls a little.
One of those for Matthew, the dominant one, is the picture of him sitting in the back seat of the Explorer, (we were traveling as a family to somewhere), and we were playing Rich Mullins’ album, ‘Liturgy, Legacy and a Ragamuffin Band’.
The song ‘The Color Green’ began to play…
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop And every house must have it's builder And I awoke in the house of God Where the windows are mornings and evenings Stretched from the sun Across the sky north to south And on my way to early meeting I heard the rocks crying out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise
Matthew was probably 9 or 10 years old and he was staring out of the window as the song played, with this deep look on his face, totally immersed in the music, looking as if he could ‘feel’ the music as well as hear it.
I’ll never forget it. It is so much of ‘who Matthew is’.
Once again, today as he graduated, as he looks forward to the ‘next’ of life…I couldn’t help but see that little boy, gazing through the glass, lost in his own world as we drove down some back road somewhere…and once again, I couldn’t be more proud.
I’ll never forget it. It is so much of ‘who Matthew is’.
Once again, today as he graduated, as he looks forward to the ‘next’ of life…I couldn’t help but see that little boy, gazing through the glass, lost in his own world as we drove down some back road somewhere…and once again, I couldn’t be more proud.
Mark Nelson at 9:58 PM 2comments
2 Comments
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at 7:05 PM
-Jenni said... Congratulations, Matthew! It's been so long since I've seen him, but I remember when he was really young. He loved to giggle. I remember him just giggling in the 15 passenger van with the drama team saying "What's the purpose, Pervis?" Now, he's "all growed up".
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at 7:07 PM
Mark Nelson said...
Yeah...there's 'what's the purpose, Pervis?'...and, when asked the question of what super power he'd like to have, Matthew said: "The power to control ceramic tile". Classic van conversations...