Things I hope you take with you when you graduate(a note for my graduating Timber Bay seniors):

I know I’ll keep seeing you over the summer, but with the busyness of life and future planning that will be going on, we might not have a chance to talk like we can here.  So, as our last Timber Bay of the year, I wanted to talk about the things I hope you take with you when you leave us.

First and most importantly, I hope you have a secure sense of who you are in Christ.  I hope you’ve heard us explain how to have an eternal relationship with your Creator.  I hope you have heard from us how He has pursued you with a love that you will never experience here on earth.  I hope you have heard us tell you how simple it can be to lay down your struggles to make it on your own and give in to the One who can hold you up when you fall.

I hope you have heard my story.  I hope you remember the struggles I had at your age, the poor choices and decisions I made and that you remember that any advice I gave you was from that perspective.  I have never just told you not to do something because I didn’t want you to have what you thought would be fun; I spoke from experience.  I also hope that you remember that my story ends with God restoring my life and my family.  To remember that when I surrendered my pen to God to write my story, He had a much better role for me to fill.  That when I gave Him all the pieces, He was able to fit them much better than I ever could.  And to remember that there is nothing that He cannot forgive if you ask Him.

I hope you have heard us pray.  I hope you have heard how simple it can be to have a relationship and a conversation with Jesus Christ.  How it doesn’t have to have a script, or have any special words; but rather, He just wants you to talk with Him like a friend and a constant companion.  I hope you remember that I told you to always remember that He’s not a magic trick to pull out when you want something.  That sometimes prayer isn’t answered immediately, and sometimes no answer is His answer.

I hope that you have learned that the Bible isn’t something to be intimidated by.  To know that you can open it up and hear from God every time. I hope you have learned that it is the most tangible connection we can have to God, that it is just as important today than it was the day it was written, and that He can and will speak to you from the pages.  Always remember that it is full of stories from people who are just like you are; they were human, they made mistakes, and some of them accomplished great things for God.

I hope you know that I will always be there for you.  That I am a phone call or a Facebook message away if you want to talk about something, or just say Hi.  I have invested time in this relationship because I care for you and love you.  And it’s really important to keep in touch with people you care about.

I hope you know that you have a future ahead of you.  That you can rise above your circumstances.  God has a plan for each of us.  He designed us a certain way for a reason.  He’s given you talents and abilities that He will use if you let Him. 

Finally, I hope you always remember how blessed I have been to know each one of you and spend time with you.  Thank you for the laughs and the tears. And for all of the memories that I have of each of you. 

We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall. - Proverbs 16.33