I will never forget how proud I was of my older sister during her graduation assembly at our high school. The whole school gathered on the seniors’ last day to celebrate their accomplishments, mainly the biggest accomplishment in many people’s’ eyes: college. One by one each senior’s name was called, they stood up, and the announcer read off what college they were going to, as well as how much scholarship money they received. When my sister’s name was called, I remember screaming at the top of my lungs for her and quickly turning to brag to all my friends about how much money she had received. This pride quickly turned to judgment upon all of the seniors left sitting down. Since middle school, we are told that in order to succeed, right after high school comes college. So every year, it became easy for those watching to start whispering and making assumptions about the future of those who are left seated. It is made loud and clear that those people weren’t going to college. They had failed, they weren’t following the “right” path in the eyes of everyone watching, including myself.
Fast forward two years to now, the beginning of May 2018. This is the time where everyone else in my class is committing to colleges, bragging about scholarships and filling out housing forms. Most of the time I don’t mind that I am the only one not preparing for college, because I know I am following God’s plan for my life. But as the graduation assembly grows closer, I began to realize that I won’t have that moment that my sister had. I won’t get to hear my name being read and people cheering for my scholarships. Instead, I will be sitting down.
My friends urged me to submit the name of the school I plan to go to after the Race in order to avoid the embarrassment of staying seated. It would have been very easy and I did consider it, but all I really wanted was a chance to explain myself to the student body. I wanted to tell everyone that I hadn’t failed and instead I was just following a different path. But I won’t have that chance, and I will have no control over what 1,500 of my peers think of me when I am left sitting alone.
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
God doesn’t tell us to first stop and justify to everyone around us what we are doing, and then follow the path He has for us. He simply calls us to stop everything we are doing and follow Him. When Jesus called the disciples to follow Him, they dropped their nets and left their families. They left everything they knew, and went against the grain of their society. They faced severe judgment, yet they still followed Him. Why should I care if others are judging me when I am following the God of the Universe? I shouldn’t. So I am staying seated.
