Congratulations!!

I just spent one of the most memorable nights of my life with 30 special students, their families, friends, faculty and school board at the inaugural graduation at Strong Rock Christian School. What an amazing group of young men and women. They have been accepted to over 60 colleges and universities and received over $1,200,000 in scholarship offers with more to come. But do you know what really stands out about these students is the obvious bond that they have as a class. I watched them respect one another and encourage one another along this journey called high school. I had the honor of seeing them succeed with grace and deal with hardship with compassion and love for one another.

As I was sitting on the stage last night and watching them as the night progressed it was an amazing testament to their love for one another. I listened to students spur on their classmates to honor God with their lives and to remember the foundation that their parents have instilled in them. I was also reminded of a familiar and powerful scripture as one of the graduates shared the following as one of their life verses, and how it reflects their relationships with one another.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is
not proud. It is not rude, it not self-seeking, it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13: 4-8

I know that I still have a lot to learn about what it truly means to love like this. It was extremely refreshing to watch these 30 seniors as they displayed a deep love for one another and their families and friends.

I hope that each of us can be challenged to love as God's Word defines love. I will miss seeing these student in the hallways next year, but I am excited to see how the next class will follow in their footsteps and lead next year.

Congratulations to the Strong Rock Christian School Inaugural Class of 2010! Go Patriots!