Barbara Bush, former First Lady

The Commencement Address

Barbara Bush, former First Lady during the presidency of her husband, George H.W. Bush, passed away
Tuesday, April 17th, at the age of 92. One of the prominent memories that has been shared over the
last few days is Bush's commencement speech to the 1990 graduating class of Wellesley College, a
private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

"I believe it was the first, last and only time all three networks interrupted regular programming
to cover a first lady's speech live," Edward McNally, a speechwriter in the Bush White House,
recalled Tuesday, hours after Bush's passing. "It was an unusual national moment, to say the
least."

One thing that made it unusual was that first lady Bush was accompanied by Russian President Mikhail
Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, who also spoke at the commencement.

As Bush addressed the graduating class, she said, "I hope that many of you will consider making
three very special choices."

"The first is to believe in something larger than yourself . to get involved in some of the big
ideas of our time." Bush spoke of how she had chosen to promote literacy because "if more people
could read, write and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems
that plague our nation and our society."

Bush encouraged the graduates to make a second choice in their lives: "Find the joy in life." Bush
shared one of the reasons that she chose to marry a young Navy Pilot by the name of George H.W.
Bush: "he made me laugh."

"The third choice that must not be missed," Bush continued, "is to cherish your human connections:
your relationships with family and friends." Bush pressed the point adding, "As important as your
obligations as a doctor, lawyer or business leader will be, you are a human being first and those
human connections - with spouses, with children, with friends - are the most important investments
you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test,
not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a
husband, a child, a friend or a parent."

To these three great points, I would like to respectfully add one more: At the end of your life, the
most important connection will be the one with your Heavenly Father.

Our sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), but God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus
to die on the cross to redeem us from sin (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7). Through Jesus, we can be
reconciled to the Father (2 Corinthians 5:17-21), receive the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23),
and look forward to spending an eternity in heaven (John 14:1-3).

The most important "connection" that we need to have is with the Heavenly Father through His Son,
Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me" (John 14:6).

God will save and give eternal life to those who "connect" with His Son by placing their faith and
trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turning from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Him before
men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38). God will continue to cleanse from sin those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1
John 1:7).

First Lady Bush beautifully highlighted three great choices that we need to make. Please be sure
that you make the most important and eternal "connection" by choosing to trust and obey Jesus.

Won't YOU?

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from "'Find the joy': The day Barbara Bush wowed Wellesley's feminist
protesters with a graduation speech" by Steve Hendrix of The Washington Post and the transcript of
Bush's speech as shared at www.time.com.