n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 7
yourselves, parents, a round of applause!
Graduating seniors: Congratulations on this milestone accomplishment.
Soon you will be leaving home and heading out to your colleges, gap years
or employment opportunities. Soon you will get to be fully in charge of your
lives. Yikes. No one will be there to wake you up, do your laundry or make sure
you are doing the things required of you.
That is what you’ve been practicing these last four years. Practicing your
independence. It’s a powerful position you will be in, when you know that
you are making decisions that will affect the rest of your life. These decisions
include the small ones like getting up and going to class, doing the required
work, being a part of your new community and broadening your horizons.
But they will also involve other bigger decisions, like who you associate with,
what your social lives look like, how much you party and what you partake in.
I just referred to you as a bunch of well-adjusted, capable and self-assured
human beings. You are all of those things! They weren’t just random adjectives
I used to describe you. You are brave and strong and full of purpose and
potential. Remember that and make us and yourselves proud.
Choose your friends wisely. They will be the people who will be your
support, your tribe. They will either help and encourage you to be the best
version of yourself and to succeed, or they will drag you down pathways that
will end up causing you stress and pain.
I wish for all of you, a tribe of supporters who will elevate you and cheer
you on to succeed, encourage you to try new things and to take full advantage
of the opportunities that will be available to you. I also hope that you will be
that kind of supporter for the people in your lives.
On the subject of choices, one day when this life’s journey is done, most
of us would like to hear the reassuring words: “Well done, good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many.” Each day as you make your life choices, remember that those choices
will in the end define who you are, and what you will become. So if there is one
thing that you can take away from
today, I would ask you to be careful
and mindful of your choices.
I hope for all of you, a life that
is easy breezy. I would, however, be
remiss in not saying that sadly most
of you won’t get to sail through life.
There will be challenges. I hope in the
face of some of these challenges, you
fail. Not too often, or too hard or too
tragically. But only through failure or
Each day as you make
your life choices,
remember that those
choices will in the end
define who you are, and
what you will become.
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