A Launching

Briana has completed her formal high school education.

I am very excited for her.  She has been a joy to teach--to learn with.  She has retained her love for learning, nurtured her curiosity, and exercised her self-teaching muscles. I am confident she will continue to explore, to learn, and to grow as she enters this stage of adulthood.

We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends.  She wanted a personal and intimate celebration at home, so we put together a ceremony honoring her by reflecting on who she is and reviewing some of her academic and extracurricular accomplishments. It was fun, but a little bittersweet, to see her quickly grow up through the shots she compiled into a slideshow.  She chose especially poignant music to accompany the pictures including "Beautiful, Beautiful" by Francesca Battistelli, "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns, "Help Me Find It" by Sidewalk Prophets, and "Story of Your Life" by Matthew West.  (I've linked to the songs with lyrics because I found it interesting to see exactly what was said in the songs she chose.)

 Then we presented her with her diploma and shared our wishes and a blessing for her future.  Her blessing included the following, based on Ephesians 1:18:

We thank God for you,

and will be in prayer for you,

asking God,

the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding,

so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

We will pray that your heart will be flooded with light

so that you can understand

the wonderful future God has promised to those who follow him;

the glorious inheritance that is waiting for you;

and the incredible power that is at work in your life.

We were so blessed by the family and friends who came out to celebrate with her.  We counted about 140 people who joined us for the ceremony, to share a meal, and to spend time in fellowship.  Supper consisted of sloppy joes, hot dogs, pasta salad, fruit salad, kale salad, and chips.  For dessert we had several varieties of specialty bakery treats (as they are Briana's employer), rice krispy bars, chocolate chip bars, and the fixings for S'mores.  We had a bonfire, volleyball, and ladder ball set up as well as sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and a bean bag throw for the younger kids, but people also just had a good time visiting and watching the many children run around.

She said it was exactly the celebration she wanted, and I have to agree with her--it was a wonderful evening celebrating the delightful young woman she is.  I have been blessed by her in many, many ways and look forward to seeing what the Lord does in her and through her.