LCS Grad Speech 2024

 

Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us in celebrating the Lafayette Christian School class of 2024 for all that we have accomplished and will continue to strive towards. I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to grow up with this group of people, many of them since elementary school and before. We’ve had our spats and disagreements, but have had so many amazing memories and moments where we have had the privilege to come together as a family. I am also incredibly thankful for having teachers that have poured into us with love and fervent devotion to the Lord. 

Each teacher and administrator has taken special care to pour into each of us academically and mentally. They push us in academic rigor while also showing grace and patience, taking time to understand our joys and fears inside and outside of a school setting. While scholastics are of great importance, I would strongly advocate for how much our teachers have emphasized the necessity of understanding not only our courses of study, but every thought, action, and relationship through a biblical lens— how they have taught us to take every thought captive to Christ. 

While every teacher has shaped my walk with Christ, there’s certain teachers the Lord has used to speak to me specifically in a way I never thought imaginable. I think of Mr. Stringham’s 5th grade class and how he continuously loved us no matter how confused or lost we were. How he taught us all “that the answer is there.” And even now, he remains present in our lives as a fatherly figure who shows us a glimpse of the everlasting and sacrificial love our Heavenly Father has for us. 

In 9th Grade Biology, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see Jesus better, as my Creator and Sustainer,  through Mrs. Whitney Humphries God-given passion and insightful wisdom. Her heart was and continues to be on full display as she pours into her students so that we may know the Lord more intimately, radically changing how we view life. The physical and spiritual realities she taught to me were strengthened in truth when Mrs. Guidry began teaching here. Mrs. Guidry’s God-given intellect and reasoning showed me a logical God who could be trusted in every hill and valley, whose knowledge is infinite, breathtaking, and perfect. Design doesn’t suggest a designer, but demands Him- despite how prone we are to deny Him. Both of these remarkable women remain active mentors in my life in the truth and love that Christ displays. 

The spiritual truths revealed through God’s Creation have taught me to worship Him for all of His great deeds in the past, present, and future- praise for what has been revealed and what is yet to be revealed. Acknowledgment of Jesus as our Creator makes us realize He is worthy to define us and to save us from our brokenness and distress. The pride-buckling truth is that we will never be able to save ourselves from our fears, pains, or loneliness, but we don’t serve a God who leaves us in our distress. We must look past ourselves. Before we do, we will notice we are among a crowd of mockers and scoffers. The Spirit will lift our heads up to a solemn hill and we will gaze upon a man gentle and lowly. We will remember that our sins drove the nails through His hands and feet and pierced His side. We will remember putting a crown of thorns upon his head in an attempt to mock His authority, making kings of ourselves. We will weep at the sight of this mangled man as he declares “It is finished”. All hope seems lost, but the veil is torn and the wrath we deserve for our transgressions is taken away from us. And in three perfect days, that perfect man, Jesus, is risen from the grave. We realize that this man was and is every part God, holy and divine, and has called us towards Him to be covered in His purity and righteousness before our Heavenly Father. This is what defines us as human, what gives us the ability to love correctly, be patient, and forgive. It is my prayer that everyone who walks through the halls of LCS may know this truth and live in it. 

To my fellow graduates, we’ve been taught and discipled by our families, friends, and community, but now it’s time for us to go out into our own Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria; some of us might even be called to the ends of the earth. No matter where we go, I know that we are guided by our Shepherd, who calls to us even while we are afraid and nervous, knees trembling and heart pounding. Our God will not forsake us. Find comfort in His rod and His staff, for He is immeasurably more than any riches we build up or love we will find on this earth. Jesus is our caring Shepherd, but also our righteous and holy King, and we will find the greatest joy in seeking His counsel and glory above all else. His promises are precious, His way is better than sin, and His reward is more satisfying than every glimpse of glory in this life.