june 12, 2009. this day only comes once.
there will never again be another june 12, 2009.
life is lived once. and only once.
faculty and staff. friends and family.
pastor davidson. mr cantrell.
pastor thomas. class of 2009.
the years. the months. the days. the hours, minutes and seconds that make up our lives have come together this evening to celebrate an event. an accomplishment. a transition. the transition from high school to what some would call real life. an accomplishment of finishing and enduring 4 years of high school. an event that signals the accomplishment and initiates the transition. an event that causes one to not only look forward to what lies ahead but also to look back at what has already taken place. i look back at good times and bad. times of laughter. times of tears. times of understanding. times of utter confusion. the times vary just as each and every individual in this room varies. but what is the point of these times. of these experiences. of these emotions. what is the point of it all.
a wise man wrote in a book called ecclesiastes about these varying times. he wrote about his search for meaning and the point of life. he searched for meaning in every imaginable way. he looked for meaning in money and wealth. he looked for it in pleasure. he looked to women. drinking. conquering. expanding his kingdom. he looked everywhere. after looking to the ends of the earth for meaning he has this to say at the end of it all.
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
the sole purpose and meaning for my existence is to serve and glorify my Creator and Savior. the Un-created One. the Maker of all things. nothing else makes any true sense. for me to do anything other than worship and obey the very being who created me out of nothing. and then to not only create me but to even acknowledge my existence and to go deeper than that and desire a relationship with me, His creation. He owes me nothing. i owe Him all that i am. my very being is owed to Him.
yet how often do i choose to ignore this reality. this truth. how many years of my life did i love and worship the game of basketball more than i did the One who created me and gave me the ability to play that game.
how many more tears have i shed over losing a game rather than in understanding the love and sacrifice Christ made for me. the same God that gives me freedom and choice is the same God that i choose to so often throw under the bus. i will be the first to admit that i fail. that i don’t always live according to my intended and created purpose. that i am selfish. that i am at times too lazy and too selfish to correctly worship and serve my Maker who died for me.
why God still loves me. why He bothers to involve Himself in my life. i can’t explain. God promises many things but He never promises us tomorrow. we are never guaranteed another day. how many days have i arrogantly lived and wasted. the last thing i want to do is waste my life. my one life. my one shot.
i have learned a lot of things over the last 4 years.
i have sat through many academic lessons. but the most important lessons i have learned have been those about life and how to live. how to not waste my life and my one shot at existence. i have learned how to make it through finals weeks. how to balance sports, friends, and still get projects in on time. how to fail and be knocked down and then get right back up again. how to ask for forgiveness. how to accept grace. how to love and be loved. how to admit i’m wrong. how to ask for advice.
i would like to thank pastor davidson for allowing this connection between church and school. for your compassionate nature that you show regardless of the person and situation. for the consistent lifestyle of Christ-likeness that you demonstrate.
pastor thomas for your honesty and transparency, for your willingness to listen. for genuinely caring and truly rejoicing with us through our blessings and crying with us in our valleys. i think i speak on behalf of my entire class when i say you have truly impacted each of our lives. thank you for encouraging the desire of truth and pursuit of Christ.
mother. for putting up with me. for all the time and energy you have sacrificed to make sure i was where i needed to be, to make sure i was fed and clothed properly. for making fun of me and my height even though you are shorter than me. for allowing me to make fun of you back. i don’t how often a mother and son get to share that type of open and transparent relationship filled with teasing yet the most sincere care. there is not enough time to properly thank and acknowledge you for everything you have given and done for me.
dad. you have worked tirelessly to make sure we have been provided for. you taught me since i can remember to think for myself. to not be a blind follower. to think, to reason out, to research, to decide for myself. you also taught me to learn from my mistakes and if at all possible to learn from the mistakes of others before having to learn from my own. thank you for teaching truth, for putting me in this school. for setting an example of the kind of father i want to be. i can only hope to grow up to be half the man you are.
class of 2009. we’ve made it through 4 years of high school together.
good times. fun times. not so fun and not so good times.
you each have had an effect and influence on who i am today. i’ve learned a lot from each and everyone of you. only by the grace and mercy of God have we made it thus far. and only by Him can we continue to make it. and continue to press on.
some words that have kept me in check, kept me in my place, and reminded me of who i am and what my purpose is are as follows.
live love.
breathe surrender.
with reckless abandon.
hold nothing back.
it is my desire to live love as Christ exemplified true selfless love.
to breathe surrender to the Creator of all things, completely given over to His authority and will. and to do so with reckless abandon holding nothing back.