Saturday a week ago, a very special young man received a Furman diploma, and I highlighted his remarkable story in my charge to the graduates.
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The impact of the collision catapulted Greg into the front windshield; he suffered massive facial trauma, an open skull fracture, and third-degree burns. When a rescue team cut Greg from the wreckage, he had no vital signs. Paramedics restored his breathing and transported him to a hospital, where doctors told his parents, Pam and Tim, that their only child was in a deep coma and probably would not survive the night.
But Greg defied the odds. A few days after the accident, he underwent extensive brain surgery to close his head wounds. He finally emerged from the coma 30 days later.
Since the accident, Greg has endured more than 20 surgical procedures and has had to re-learn the most basic physical actions, from swallowing to speaking.
When Greg was released from the hospital in April 1998, the Masons were advised to place him in a nursing home because of his many medical needs. Doctors also told them that Greg's goal of returning to Furman was unrealistic. Yet through intense physical therapy and incredible tenacity, Greg made slow but steady progress. As he demonstrated, hope is as inspiring as it is unreasonable.
Four years ago, Greg returned to classes at Furman. His mother was always by his side. She transported him to each class, took notes for him, recorded all of the lectures and helped mediate his conversations with professors. Last Saturday night, Greg not only received a Furman diploma; he graduated with honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
At the commencement ceremony, he honored us by another major accomplishment. He walked for the first time in public. As he approached the platform in his wheelchair, he signaled his mother to stop and assist him. He then laboriously lifted himself out of the chair and took several dramatic steps across the stage to receive his diploma. Ten thousand people in Paladin Stadium witnessed a miracle.
Through their grace and perseverance, the Masons embody the invisible yet redemptive reality of hope. They remind us how extraordinarily resilient and tenacious the human spirit can be.
After all of the degrees were awarded, I acknowledged an obvious point: the graduates had attended college during one of the most turbulent and unstable periods in world history. Like Greg Mason, I said, they have also had to adapt to the unexpected, the unwanted and the unexplainable. Yet the example of the Masons, I emphasized, should endow them with a sense of hope in the absence of stability, just as faith gives us confidence and courage in the absence of certainty.
I assured the graduates that they are going to do great things, but I added that they are also going to encounter accidents, setbacks, failures and tragedies. How they respond to those unwanted situations, I stressed, will define their character and shape the quality and trajectory of their lives.
My wish for you is that you will summon up the spiritual fellowship, mental toughness and creative resilience that Furman has helped nurture in you. When difficulties arise, don't lose heart; don't give in; don't despair. For as the old gospel song assures us, God did not bring you this far, just to leave you.
Hope is our engine of possibility. We are saved by hope, said Paul to the Romans. We glory in tribulations, for we know that tribulation inspires patience and patience (fosters) experience and experience (generates) hope.
Regardless of our
defects or weaknesses or limitations, God expects us to persevere: to nurture hope,
grit our teeth and trust
I closed my comments by inviting the graduates to join the poet Emily Dickinson in seeking always to dwell in a sense of possibility and by asking that they reside there with a sense of honor, a sense of humility, a sense of humor and a sense of hope.
Just as Greg Mason has done.