Sunday, May 21, 2000
Sunday, May 21, 2000 |
Write it on the road! (Oops, you can't do that any more.) Write it on the parking lot! (Oops, I forgot the 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not write on the parking lot!”) Write it on the rock! (Oops, not every school has a rock.) Write it on your cars in your parade! (Oops, your parades have been declared illegal.) Write it on your bookbags! (Oops, they're illegal now, too. Well, sometimes.) Write it on the grass! (Oops, NOT a good idea anyway!) Bummer. So, will you seniors of 2000 go unrecognized? Will you leave no mark on our community? Will you depart unnoticed from our midst? Will you disappear, never to be given another thought again? NOT! You see, even if your “2000” is not plastered all over town, your “mark” is upon this community in BIG, BOLD LETTERS FOR ALL TO SEE! And, unlike short-lived spray paint, your impact and contribution will last as long as time. Therefore, on behalf of our entire community, and in the absence of other places to put it, I am privileged to give you this space right here to write it, shout it and flaunt it. Go ahead. SENIORS 2000 RULE! SENIORS 2000 RULE! SENIORS 2000 RULE! In response, we simply say, “Yes, you do!” and “Thank You!” Thank you for the multi-mile-long list of contributions and accomplishments you have been a part of through your lives here. Thank you for your efforts and performances in academics, band, chorus, drama, athletics, and all the special activities by which you have both been blessed and have been a blessing to the rest of us! Thank you for your collective ministry in the churches in our community. You have given literally countless hours of work and discipleship. What a blessing you have been! You probably will never know how much you have meant to the Lord's good work among us. Thank you for your collective responsible citizenship record. You have been “good kids” and law-abiding contributors to our society. Thank you for your sharing of your talents to make our community truly a better place for all of us to live. We stand in awe of your skills and gifts and how you have used them for the benefit of others. Thank you for being our sons and daughters, whom we love with all our hearts, and of whom we are so proud! Your “mark” will live on. Have no worry about that. As you stay and as you go; as you settle and as you scatter; whenever you think of it, look around. In your eyes of faith you'll see your “2000” written all over the place. It looks good! Of course, God loves you! And so do we!! We join you to say it one more time: SENIORS 2000 RULE! Kollmeyer is senior pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. Author's note: Jessica Kollmeyer has attended kindergarten and all 12 grades in the Fayette County School System and graduates as a part of the Class of 2000. This article is dedicated especially to her.
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