Pomp and Circumstance

yesterday, we had the privelege of going to Josh's high school graduation. It was the best one I'd ever been to, including my own. One of the speeches was given by a brand new Christian, and she lost it. But, speaking through her tears, she witnessed to the whole stadium of Christ's constant love for her. Then, another student, one of my brother's friends, gave the one cliche-free speech. His was in a calm, steady voice, and it spoke of the value of relationships over academics (and he knows where of he speaks - this boy's got hundreds of thousands in academic scolarships), above all, the value of a relationship with Jesus Christ. It was inspiring. I mean that. Here was the emotional devotion of a baby Christian, and the studied, sure devotion of a older one, displayed without shame in front of thousands of people. Their courage and God's grace touched my heart.

And then there was a third witness: my brother. Josh was chosen to sing the senior song, which was Josh Groben's "You Raise Me Up". He did excellently. He has a beautiful voice - and it was lovely to hear a song like that sung straight: no showboating, just honest, true feeling and skill. When he finished, he grinned and pointed up, showing who he was singing about and who he gave credit to. His whole class roared, and jumped out of their seats and gave him a standing ovation.

By the by, this is a public high school.


Anyway, I was immensely glad that day to be in someway a sister to those brave speakers, and in every way a sister to that brave singer. Three cheers for Joshua! Twenty-nine gazillion cheers for Jesus!

-Jess