Lean Forward and Soar

One of the highlights of 2013 was when I was given the honor to speak at the commencement ceremony of the school where I had taught for ten years, which just so happened to be the same school I had graduated from twenty-six years ago. Anyone who knows me knows how challenging it is for me to be in the spotlight. Add the pressure of a large crowd, beautifully delivered salutatorian and valedictorian speeches, the presence of some of my lifetime mentors in the audience, an emotional pre-speech video, and hose that had no intention of doing what they were created to do; and there should be absolutely no doubt that this moment could be a catastrophe in the making. While I cannot be certain that any of the speech I had written is what I actually communicated that warm May evening, I have been asked if I could post the speech. Since it was meant to be a challenge to new beginnings, I thought New Year’s Eve would be a good time to post it. So, here it is:

I must warn you that I am completely out of my comfort zone. The last time I felt this nervous and sick with fear was 5 or 6 years ago at Camp Calvary when I was talked into attempting the zip line because one of the students was too terrified to do it and needed a team to support and encourage her.

How I agreed to be a part of it, I have no idea, but I do remember grabbing the harness and fearing that it wouldn’t fit, then fearing that it would. Unfortunately, it fit. So I donned this uncomfortable contraption and took my place in line with the others who were beaming with excitement and anticipation. 

I’m not sure if I was convincing or not, but I tried to remain positive, calm and assuring for the sake of the terrified student. Still, inwardly, a battle raged. Each step of our ascension up the steep, steep steps toward the tall, tall platform I meditated on a scripture I have hidden in my heart, “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” But the voice in my head was screaming, “He didn’t give me a spirit of stupidity either!" 

As we neared the platform, my anxiety was almost unbearable. I remember the voices around me became distant mumbles until they turned to a faint humming. The meditation in my heart and my head was blaring, and the core of my being was in full-blown panic mode. The zip line guy was giving me instructions of what to do and where to go… instructions that I faintly heard much less understood. I blurted out something like, “Are you sure that thread can hold me?” To which he responded with something about three ton jets. While I am confident his intent was to offer assurance. It only worsened my fears as I imagined the headlines the next morning, “Teacher breaks 3 ton line and falls to death as her students watch.” What an embarrassing way to die.

Yet, for the sake of my students, I dared not retreat. As I neared the edge of the platform, the instructor told me to sit down, scoot forward and dangle my feet over the edge of the platform. I honestly thought I was going to pass out. I heard a voice counting, followed by instructions to lean forward. Then somehow from somewhere determination arose from the inner most part of my being… maybe it was the fear of ridicule or a sudden burst of faith, whatever it was, I was determined that I would not be the last one off that platform. So “lean forward.” I did, and that’s when I experienced the thrill of soaring. Then I dangled in that uncomfortable harness with two of my fellow forward leaners as we waited for the terrified student to decide whether she would lean forward or retreat.

Which brings me here today to another platform with my feet feeling as if they were dangling, and the core of my being is once again in full-blown panic mode, but I won’t retreat because of you, the graduating class of 2013, sitting there who are probably filled with fear and excitement all at the same time. You’ve girded yourself with your harness and climbed the steps of the tower. With each step you added to your education, your experiences, your life lessons. You’ve learned your ABCs and the scriptures that go along with them, “A – All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. B – Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and that shalt be saved….” You’ve learned how to read, how to write, how to multiply, how to divide, how to reason, how to prove, and hopefully, how NOT to behave during a fire drill.

Every step toward this platform, you were empowered by parents, ministers, teachers and others who were there to assist you as you ascended. They have taught you, encouraged you, corrected you, inspired you… and most of all, they’ve loved you. 

Long after you forget how bright the planet Venus is or what Evangelista Torecelli contributed to science; when you no longer remember the formula for the area of a trapezoid, the symbols for the periodic table of elements, who wrote “The Cop and the Anthem,” the date that Columbus sailed the ocean blue, or how to sing the quadratic formula to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel; and even if you forget the names of those who taught you those things, I hope you never forget the example they set for you.

Don’t forget the heart of a servant you saw in Brother Dale.
….the uncompromised integrity in Pastor and Mrs. Parker.… the kindness and gentleness in the Skinners and Mrs. Stark.…the high standards of Mrs. Garcia and Mrs. Dodson.Don’t forget the tenacity and the mercy of Mr. Stark and Mr. Stone.… the enthusiasm and joy in Mrs. Von Quintus and Ms. Herridge.Don’t forget the encouragement of Mrs. Weaver.…the wisdom of Mrs. McMinn.…the faithfulness of Mrs. Cano and Mr. and Mrs. Boyd.…the compassion of Mrs. Reynolds and Ms. Tucker.… the commitment of Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Stanton… the generosity of parents and grandparents who volunteered their time for sports and school activities.And never forget the patience and the incredible heart of Mrs. Burchett.

Because the greatest lesson you learned at Calvary Baptist School isn’t written in a text book; the greatest lesson, the lesson that sets Calvary Baptist students apart from every other student in every other school is written on the heart of the Administration, the staff and the families at Calvary Baptist School. It’s love -- authentic love.

So, when I sat down to work on my last charge to you, I asked the Lord, what can I say that hasn’t been said over the course of the last thirteen or fourteen years? And I was reminded of a book I started reading about a year ago that challenged me to create a personal mission statement. The book gave several samples and suggestions, but I wanted mine to be completely original, something that was uniquely me… so I put the book down and over the course of the year, I have considered my mission and reconsidered it, written it and rewritten it. Nothing I could come up with seemed to capture the essence of who I want to be. But a few weeks back, as I was helping a young client make some decisions about her life, three short phrases were dropped into my heart, and I knew this was what I was created to do….. Love God. Love People. Live Passionately.

That’s it. Nothing creative about it. It’s simple really – not at all original or uniquely me. Because that’s what we were all created to do.

Class of 2013, my last charge to you is simple:

Love God.
To love Him, you have to know Him. Spend time getting to know Him. Pursue Him. Foremost. First. Seek Him in everything you do. Let nothing and no one distract you from your pursuit of your first Love. If you live your entire life and never know God in an intimate way, you will find nothing but emptiness and loneliness. Loving Him is what life is all about… this life, and eternal life. Love God. He desires a relationship with YOU!  Nothing is more important than your relationship with Him. Love God.

Love People.
Loving people is just an extension of loving God. Because if you love Him, really love him, you can’t help but love those who He loves, and believe it or not, He loves ALL of us. So love those who are lovable and love those who are unlovable. Matthew 5:46 says, “If you love them that love you, what reward have you? Do not the publicans do the same?” Even the world does that! So, love those that challenge you, frustrate you, discourage you, and even push you away. Remember: it is the imperfect people in our lives that He uses to perfect us in Him. I am finding that in loving the unlovable, God reveals His greatest beauty. So love people. Love them like He does when they love you back and when they don’t. Just love them.

Live Passionately.
Again, this is just an extension of loving God and loving people. If you truly love God and love people, you can’t live without passion. God places a dream in the heart of each of us, then He equips us with the potential to fulfill that dream. Those who live passionately are the forward leaners who live up to their potential and fulfill their dream.

Passion will make you lean forward and not retreat. People who live passionately don’t sit around and wait for the dream to happen. They don’t retreat when circumstances get scary or uncomfortable. People with passion climb the platform, let their feet dangle over the edge, then lean forward and soar. Those without passion may climb the tower, they may even make it all the way up the platform, but when things get the most uncomfortable, they refuse to scoot forward and let their feet dangle… those without passion will never know the thrill of soaring.

Consider the children of Israel who were living in bondage in Egypt. God placed a dream of the Promised Land in their heart. They began to climb the steps toward the platform. As they left Egypt the dream, the passion for the dream, drove them. Each step of the way, God prepared them by meeting their needs and building their faith. He equipped each one of them with the potential to fulfill that dream, yet when they got to the platform and Moses sent twelve spies to scout out the Promised Land. Ten spies retreated; they moved away from the edge, and an entire generation of a nation retreated. They spent 40 years on the platform and died there, never acquiring the dream, never fulfilling their potential or God’s plan and purpose for their life. They missed their destiny. But there were two spies who chose to live passionately and trust God with the Dream… Joshua and Caleb leaned forward. And because they did, they attained the Promise… lived the Dream… fulfilled their purpose. They experienced the thrill of soaring. They lived passionately.

I’d like to conclude my last lesson to the class of 2013 in the same way I began my first lesson to you back in elementary school, when I visited your classroom for Young Authors Club.

The first step was to create a character; that step has been done for you. The Creator of all creativity has done that part for you. The character is you. Don’t lose sight of who you are, who you were created to be. The second step was to give your character a desire and obstacles to overcome on his way to achieving his dream.

Graduates of 2013, God has placed a dream in your heart, and He has equipped you with the potential to fulfill that dream. The empty pages are in your hands…now fill them with days of loving God, loving people, and living passionately.

Just lean forward and soar.