Sunday, May 29, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | Graduates in 05 show great class after 9/11
It was Tuesday morning. They were three weeks into their freshmen year. Naïve. Still a little nervous about this high school thing. Still trying to figure out the best way to get to third period class. Little did they know their lives, and the lives of us all, were about to change forever. Then all the confusion started. Routine stopped. The words many of these freshmen had never heard were announced, lock down. Their modern classrooms were filled with TV pictures as they watched with horror the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Was this the end? Would life go on? Was this already the end of high school as they knew it? Had their whole future, as they had begun to envision it, just gone up in smoke? At that point these were the still burning, unanswered questions. But now they and we know the answers to each of these. And the presence of these fine young people on the stages of high school graduations throughout our community this weekend is a great tribute to them. No, 9/11 was not the end. Oh, it left its mark on these freshmen then, these graduates now. But it was certainly not the end. They didn't quit school never to come back. They didn't drift out into the world in lost despair. They didn't fold in and play ain't it awful. Good for them! Yes, life would, and did, and does, go on. Was life a little tougher? Oh sure. But these freshmen then, these graduates now, rose as one and read the sign on the locker room wall and heeded its decree: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Good for them! No, this was not the end of high school as they knew it. These freshmen then, these graduates now, have seen their world of high school get more strict, more harsh, less flexible, less tolerant, with more state-mandated regulations and less opportunity for locally applied interpretation. But my guess is most of them probably didn't ever slow down enough to worry about these more adult-oriented observations. What did these kids do? They went to high school! Good for them! They went to class, listened and took notes, studied, took tests, wrote papers, got through hard subjects and classes, played in the band, sang in the chorus, competed in athletics, hung out with their friends, drove their cars, joined clubs, went to church and youth group, and all the others things normal high school students have always done. And they excelled. They accomplished. They have now done what they stared out as freshmen then to do - graduate! And move on to the next chapter and challenge of their still young lives. Good for them! And no, their whole future, as they had begun to envision it back as freshmen, did not go up in smoke on only one fateful day. These freshmen then, these graduates now, have put themselves in a position to step into the world with their futures well in tack! And what bright futures they have! We look for mighty contributions to God's world from the Class of 2005. And we look at them on graduation night and trust them to use their God-given gifts and talents to truly make this world a better place. Good for them! Congratulations to you our graduates, your parents, your families, your teachers and school administrators, and all who helped you along your way. You are a great class! Good for you! God loves you! And so do we! |
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