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Jim Bishop ’67 has resumed his popular “Bishop’s Mantle” column in the local Harrisonburg newspaper, Daily News-Record<\/em>. We share last week’s nostalgia-laden installment with permission from the author, a former public information officer at EMU. Grad years for those he names below were sprinkled in specially for publication in this venue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, Lord, the big day has come and gone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, I feel rather alone in the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n School is over; no more homework, tests and essays.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Never again am I likely to be together again with all my old friends and teachers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those great times that we enjoyed as a class are now just precious memories, never to be forgotten.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, Lord, a big decision \u2013 should I go to college?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve been asked many times if I\u2019m planning to go and . . . I really can\u2019t say, and I\u2019m afraid too many people are wondering, \u2018What kind of a jerk are you? School\u2019s over and you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to be doing from now on.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, you know what my talents are and if I should go or not. You also know my finances are in a poor state of affairs, with a car to support and all the money paid out for senior activities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But I do know that if I do decide to go it\u2019ll be your will and somehow, I\u2019ll be able to afford it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, whatever I decide to make of my future, make it my business to pick a career that is Christ-centered, where I\u2019ll be serving you and others and I\u2019ll enjoy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Help me to remember that motto that\u2019s hanging on my bedroom wall \u2013 \u2018Only one life t\u2019will soon be past, only what\u2019s done for Christ will last.\u2019 Amen.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n This pathos-laden petition I titled \u201cA Graduate\u2019s Prayer,\u201d appeared on the front page of the May 31, 1964 issue of \u201cYouth\u2019s Christian Companion,\u201d a weekly take-home paper issued by Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, Pa. When the article was published, I was wrapping up my freshman year at Eastern Mennonite College (now University). Who woulda thunk it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a high school senior, going on to college was the least of my aspirations. All this 18-year-old, happy-go-lucky, know-it-all really wanted to do was land a job as a radio disc jockey, a platter-pushin\u2019 poppa on the scene with the record machine. Alas, I received little encouragement to pursue such an unstable, questionable occupation and in fact was told I lacked a \u201cradio voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so, after graduation, I gathered, washed, graded and packed thousands of eggs on neighbor Abe Landis<\/strong>\u2019 12,000-layer poultry farm six days a week. But several weeks into the summer, I started asking myself, is this what I want to do for the foreseeable future? One fateful day at work, I sat on a cart in a dusty chicken house and scribbled the rough draft of what became \u201cA Graduate\u2019s Prayer\u201d and submitted it to the YCC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around the first of August, I applied to EMU for the 1963-64 school year. A (mimeographed) letter of acceptance quickly came back, and early September I headed south to Virginia without ever having visited the campus. It proved to be one of the Best. Decisions. Ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since graduating from EMU in 1967 \u2013 and now again the first weekend of May when the university\u2019s 102nd annual commencement would have taken place were it not for the coronavirus cancellation \u2013 I\u2019ve reflected often on how much those four years of college transformed my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Had I not attended EMU, I would not have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n College isn\u2019t for everyone, but for me, this graduate\u2019s prayer was answered beyond expectations. And for all those graduating from high school or college this spring, even though \u201cfrom a distance,\u201d may your graduates\u2019 prayers exceed your wildest dreams. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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