Today they looked so grown up, sitting there on the stage in their best clothes, on their best behavior. Behind their smiles and grown-up demeanor it was hard to recall the realities of these past two years: the reprimands and detentions; the homework, finished and unfinished; the sleepless nights when I said something wrong, or left something unsaid; the countless e-mails to parents; the Wednesday afternoons struggling through our "silent" reading period; the friendships broken and mended, with tears; the endless arguments over "who stole my pencil?!"; the fear that they would never make it to this day.
Yet here they are. And as I looked at my students on the stage this evening, I could finally look past the struggles and more fully see their potential, and their successes. Their creativity; their kindness; their intelligence; their growing maturity. They have come such a long way, and I do believe that they are ready for the next step. The funny thing is that, as many times as I wished their graduation would come faster, now I wish I had a little longer with these amazing young men and women.
I did not do much to help them reach this point of achievement. I did so many things wrong and have so much more to learn. So tonight, as I looked at those students up on the stage in their best clothes and brightest smiles, I did not feel pride but rather gratitude to God for working so powerfully in their lives. Do they still have a long way to go? Of course...as do we all. But my prayer for them tonight is this:
"...That he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
--Philippians 1:6
Class of 2017--stay strong in the Lord!
I leave you tonight with one bonus picture: the sunsets here have been gorgeous lately! :)
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