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BOUNDLESSLY HOPEFUL >><br />
Graduation Reflections<br />
BY MADY SHANK ‘17<br />
As always, Diaspeiro was a special evening celebration among the Class of <strong>2017</strong> graduates, CHCA faculty<br />
and graduates’ families. As one of the last events of their CHCA experience, seniors are honored and they<br />
take time to share and encourage. Mady Shank did just that in her speech as shared below.<br />
Two years ago at this time, our school announced a change<br />
in structure that resulted in our new upper school which<br />
would include Grades 7 through 12. As a result, Mrs.<br />
Metzger would transition from being a high school history<br />
teacher to an Assistant Principal for Grades 7-8. With this<br />
drastic change in positions, I can imagine she had a lot of<br />
preparation and planning to do in a very abbreviated period<br />
of time. However, the moment after the school announced<br />
her new position, Mrs. Metzger drove to West Virginia to join<br />
up with 30 high school students hiking the Appalachian Trail<br />
for May Term. She exhibited her care for us, and, in doing<br />
so, demonstrated how valuable interruptions are, even in the<br />
seemingly busiest of times.<br />
In Matthew 4, Jesus calls the first disciples, and says, ‘Come,<br />
follow me…and I will make you fishers of men.’ It then states,<br />
“At once the left their nets and followed him.” At once. They<br />
did not wait until they caught their quota of fish or pause to<br />
contemplate the fact that they were leaving their nets, their<br />
livelihood, and possibly their families. They embraced this<br />
interruption. Jesus did not call these disciples because of<br />
their abilities; he called them because of their availability.<br />
Some of my most cherished high school memories are<br />
not times I accomplished a task, but times I accepted an<br />
interruption. This year Mrs. Bailey led a girls’ Bible study on<br />
Fridays during bell 5. Choosing to join, I knew this would<br />
interrupt 48 minutes I could devote to studying for Carter<br />
quizzes or eating with my friends. Not only was this an<br />
interruption in my school day, but this was definitely an<br />
interruption for Mrs. Bailey. I’m sure she had grading and<br />
planning to do during 5th bell, and she also had to create<br />
Bible studies at night when she could’ve been spending time<br />
with her family. However, Mrs. Bailey’s leadership in topics<br />
such as trust, patience, and love transformed how I lived<br />
out my faith on a daily basis. The fact that she made time<br />
for an interruption with a couple of high school girls showed<br />
how much she cares for us. A couple of weeks ago, alumnus<br />
Darris Sneed ‘09 held a worship night in this theater on a<br />
Wednesday night from 7:00-9:00. For some people 7:00-<br />
9:00 was the time scheduled to write an English essay; for<br />
others 7:00-9:00 was a sports practice; for some it was music<br />
lessons or work. But that Wednesday night, many said, ‘not<br />
right now’ to that scheduled task and chose to worship. I<br />
think each one of us felt God’s power working through our<br />
community that night, and had no regrets of the two hours<br />
spent off schedule.<br />
The second noteworthy aspect of Matthew 4 is Jesus calls<br />
fishermen. If I had to identify the best potential disciple,<br />
I would not necessarily turn to skilled fishermen. I would<br />
predict that scholars and religious leaders best fit this<br />
description. But these mere fishermen did not question their<br />
qualification for the task of disciple. They trusted God when<br />
He called them to this interruption. From Jacob to Moses to<br />
Esther to David to others, the Bible is filled with unqualified<br />
people.<br />
What a relief that God doesn’t need us to be qualified. This<br />
Christmas, my contact at the Hearing, Speech, and Deaf<br />
Center of Cincinnati asked if I could bring some volunteers<br />
to serve at their Signing Santa party. Not only was this a<br />
significant interruption during finals time, but my group of<br />
three and I felt grossly unqualified. We were the only people<br />
at this party who did not know sign language. But God led us<br />
in expressing compassion and love to these kids without this<br />
means of communication. From this interruption, we grew in our<br />
understanding and respect of a culture different from ours.<br />
So fellow classmates, over the past four years, we have all<br />
worked hard in the tasks assigned to us, in our academics,<br />
athletics, and fine arts. I encourage you to continue this hard<br />
work in your next stage in life so you can use your abilities<br />
and passions for God’s glory. But in the midst of your efforts,<br />
remember that God works through those who are open<br />
and available at any time to let God use them. You are busy<br />
now; you will be busy in college, but don’t let your tasks be<br />
the master of your life. Be interruptible, and don’t discount<br />
yourself as unqualified for the task.<br />
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