Consecration Night 2011

I am sitting in front of my computer at about 10:30 p.m.  I just got home from the TAA Class of 2011 Consecration Service.  It was a great program that once again validated the value of what we do at our schools.  These are great kids!  There is no way anyone will convince me that you will hear words like the ones spoken by these soon-to-be graduates ,come out of young people about to graduate from high school in a public school—including a charter school!  Our students are imprinted with deep sense of gratitude to God, and they are not afraid to say so.

I spent some time talking to some stakeholders in the future of TAA after the meeting was done.  It was refreshing to hear the passion in their positions.  We may not have seen each other’s point of view with total clarity, but I hope we saw each other’s heart.  It goes back to the importance of having a common goal.  I sense we do.  But the road to arrive at our destination may not cover the same ground.  That’s where grace comes in.  I will need an extra helping of grace along the way.  The speaker tonight made reference to the fact that we are all flawed—amen!  That’s the truth.  My personal flaws, however, and not those of others, are the ones that will either define me or challenge me to grow through and out of them.  That’s life.

After that conversation had concluded, I spent a few minutes with a circle of kids, some alumni of TAA and other future graduates.  They were respectful and warm.  They greeted me by name.  Some even greeted me by a name certain students use to refer to me that is associated with my Week of Prayer at the beginning of the school year.   God is good.  I needed to be reminded in a different way that what we do is worth the cost.  This circle of young friends saw beyond my role as superintendent and simply accepted me as a much older brother—maybe a much older father figure….maybe even a…well, you get the point.

I will be preaching in Tucson tomorrow.  Penny arrives later tonight and we’ll be getting up early to head south.  Then we will return to enjoy the TAA Commencement Service on Saturday night.  I am looking forward to it.  Then it’s off to Southern California to spend a couple of days with the family before the true final week of school—Post Week.  For now, I better finish my sermon before it gets any later than it is already.  Happy Sabbath!