In just a few short days, the Class of 2024 from Colleton County High School and Colleton Preparatory Academy will take that ultimate walk across the stage for which they and their parents and guardians have been preparing for 13 long years. What a cherished moment that will be! Graduates, how many times have you said some of these words? “I’ll be so glad when I get away from this school!” “I can’t wait to get out of this house!” “When I graduate, I’m catching the ‘first thing smoking!’” “I will be too glad to get out of Walterboro!” These thoughts have been around for decades, so none of them are new to this class. However, “be careful what you wish for!” Numbers 11:1-2 (ICB) affirms, “The people complained to the Lord about their troubles. When he heard them, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned among the people. It burned the edge of the camp. So the people cried out to Moses. He prayed to the Lord, and the fire stopped burning.” Therefore, please savor the important moments of life, graduates. Once those moments are gone, they cannot be recaptured.
Some of you will matriculate into college or technical school, some will go to the workforce, and some will leave for the military, while others are yet undecided. Whatever your decision, graduates, let it be yours because you are the one who is going to have to live with it. For many years your main responsibility has been to be a student and work to your fullest potential. The majority of you have not had to help pay the mortgage or the rent, car note, utilities, insurances, or buy the groceries. Most of you have never had to buy your own clothes.
Welcome to the real world because things will not be the same after May 23 and June 1, 2024! There is a vast world out there “expecting” your arrival, but it is up to each of you what you do with the opportunities that await you. There is so much you can accomplish if you have the will and the desire. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) states, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Congratulations graduates, always abound in the faith, and never leave home without Him!
