"A Time For Everything"

Wesley Wyatt, Megan Norwood, Meg Gardner

Youth Sunday

April 26, 2009

Wesley Wyatt

“To everything turn, turn, turn. There is a season, turn, turn, turn. Whatever happens has an appropriate time.” Everything has its own place and purpose. In a truly beautiful song, The Byrds emphasize the highs and lows of life. The ups are way up and the downs, well, the downs are pretty low. Each line has a good and bad. This juxtaposition of positives and negatives seems to me to perfectly reflect life as it is. I mean, who hasn’t had a great day only to get an upsetting phone call or some bad news? Who hasn’t been down on their luck only to have something great happen to them to make their day better? Life is always full of ups and downs. It’s strange that verses written thousands of years ago still have enough relevance to be made into a timely and everlasting song. The song by the Byrds expresses some of the frustrations in what was one of the most turbulent decades in history. Even now in 2009, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 soothes and comforts those who look to it for consolation.

“A time to plant and a time to uproot.” I’m sure I’ve been planting for the past 18 years. I’ve made many friends, almost all of whom I will still keep in touch with after this summer is over. The memories I’ve made will stay with me, hopefully forever. My family especially knows that I’m not exactly a homebody, but I’m not exactly ready to give up everything around me just yet. There are things I’ll miss immeasurably, like spending entire afternoons at Dog River or Orange Beach, our family get-togethers on holidays or birthdays, and being lazy on Sunday afternoons with my parents and our 100 lb lap dog. The uprooting part of this verse bothers me a bit. It’s a little too jolting. Thinking about the sudden changes I’m about to experience is unnerving. I mean, I won’t have my parents around all of the time, but I’m also gonna have more responsibility than ever before, for myself and a few of my wilder roommates. Being at St. Paul’s has been nice because I know a large amount of the people there. Going to Alabama on the other hand will put me in a place where I know relatively few people. I’m not sure if I’m exactly ready for that, but it’s something I’m really looking forward to.

“A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” I’m sure everyone has seen enough cliché goodbyes and tearful montages to know that everyone is at the least a little bit sad at saying goodbye to old friends and leaving for a new time. As much as I don’t like them, those clichés and montages are right. I know I’ll be sad to say goodbye to some of my best friends. Even though there will be painful goodbyes in August, Ecclesiastes tells us to balance them with times of laughter. Friends of mine are going to Auburn, Charleston, Chicago, Sewanee, Ohio, New Orleans, Dallas, and tons of other cities. I don’t know what I’m gonna do without them. But I do know that I will look back on our memories with fondness, and will laugh until I cry. My friends, whom along with my family are the people I love the most in this world, are gonna be what I’ll miss most at college. But instead of being too depressed, I’m going to go out, make new friends, and dance like Ecclesiastes says there is a time for. Balance is the key to being stable. I am looking forward so much to school next year.

Even though I have some fears about next year, I won’t worry. Matthew tells us not to worry about tomorrow, for it will have it’s own problems. I find this to be a very nice way of thought in my final weeks of school. There are days where I just want to spend hours napping in the courtyard and skipping class. Because, I mean, what’s there to worry about? I don’t have to take any exams that affect my grades, just the AP’s. All I have to do is coast through this week and make higher than B’s, which are impossible for me to get with such little time left. I’m not saying Matthew tells us to be lazy or unconcerned; I’m saying that we shouldn’t worry about things to come or about immaterial qualms. These past weeks have been those of complete bliss, all because I’m not troubled by things to come. Take each day with its own troubles, solve them reasonably and logically, and life will immediately be better. This summer, oh I can’t wait for this summer. If there’s one thing I want more than anything right now, it’s St. Paul’s graduation and be on my senior summer break. And it’s all because I have nothing to worry about except how I’m going to enjoy each and every single day. I’m not going to worry about saying goodbye until I have to say goodbye. I’ll be relaxing with friends and loving every single minute of it. My philosophy will be that of a Bobby McFerrin song: “Don’t worry. Be Happy.” For those of you who are in troubled times, put forth your trust in God. Matthew tells us that we are the most precious creations of God. We will be taken care of, if not today but in the future.

Megan Norwood

Well, as long as I remember I have always wanted to grow up quickly. I have been ready to be a woman and have a family as soon as possible. This year is my senior year and my outlook has changed, dramatically. Being a senior comes with many emotions. Some examples are: being anxious for graduation and college, scared because it’s completely new and I might fail, and very sad, because I will be out alone and all grown up. However, as Ecclesiastes says "There is a time for Everything" and hearing this means that we know that God laughs and cries with us, is with us when we are angered, scared, and joyful." Although lately, I feel like there is not that much time, for me anyway.

           My high school years have been the best years of my life so far. I know I have many more to come but I know I will not forget some of my past experiences at Mary G. Montgomery. As a freshman, I experienced a tragic devastation. My father passed away very unexpectedly. A shock as it was, Dr. Sinclair delivered the news to Erin and me quite well. Through this time of emptiness and grief, I pushed away everyone who meant the most to me. I saw dark in everything and everyone. It took a lot of time and counseling to really figure out that I was destined to do something great with the ability God gave me. God took away my dad, but opened up my eyes to something great. Just like the saying “As one door closes, the other will open.” And that is when I really found my passion for dance.

 Erin and I have been dancing since we were little. We would sit in the car on the ride home making up dances or act like teacher and student and make dances. I started really focusing on dance and letting the guilt and hurt for my father move through me and on to the dance floor. Currently, I am waiting on a letter from the University of Southern Mississippi to see if I have been accepted into the dance major program to pursue a career in dance.

Scary as it is to say, my graduation is May 18th. I don’t think my mom and Erin know what they are losing… haha. But, I am leaving them and seeing a world I have yet to know. I am very, very excited but also very terrified. I am departing from my world I have known for almost 18 years and seeing a new one. The Aladdin song, “A Whole New World” reminds me of what I just said. But change the love story to college. My mom keeps telling me that she is expecting me to call home to tell her I’m coming home, and she will cook for me! And she knows my favorites and I will arrive with all of my clothes that haven’t been washed in two weeks.

That is what gets me. A time for everything? I was walking in Walmart and saw one of my close friends and started thinking about this theme we have here at Youth Sunday. We never get time back. This moment right here will never happen again. The past, is the past. When will it slow down? Sometimes I just wish I could stop time or travel in time and re-live all of my fondest memories. That would be cool! When I graduate, I want to capture it and hold onto it. That time, I will be moving on.

Everything has a time. Ecclesiastes 3 says all things have time, and it states that there is a time to grow and to live. We seniors are doing exactly that right now. Growing into someone who we choose to be, and who God created us to be, and living every moment we can because these are the times of our lives. One of my favorite quotes, and I live by quotes, is by Aerosmith, and it states: Life is a journey, not a destination.” I plan to explore my path that God has made for me and not have any limits on what I do and where I am going.

Meg Gardner

“When I Grow Up”

As a child, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up, and I wanted to be the first female President. Or maybe I would be a doctor who cures cancer, or a famous singer, or the next Mia Hamm. My childhood dreams were fairly typical responses to the popular question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Adults love questioning children and tapping into their vivid aspirations for the future. Children’s unabashed dreams come racing forward, unrestrained by knowledge or fear of the world. The pessimism gained by real world experiences, the sometimes low odds of success, and the fear of failing so often keep adults from pursuing their childhood dreams. But, in the (1^st or 2^nd) reading, Matthew tells us not to worry about the future, for God will provide for our needs. Jesus says to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Only God knows what the future holds, and he has a plan for each and every one of us. Therefore we need not worry about where we will be in ten or twenty years, or what we will be when, or if, we grow up, for his plan is greater than we can imagine.

So what do I want to be when I grow up? As I dangle my feet into the vast ocean of the real world, I approach this query with the knowledge that my response will directly affect the rest of my life. This question, found on college applications, scholarship forms, and many many tongues, now actually requires an answer.

Well, in case you were wondering, I plan to attend the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee and study biology in the pre-med program. I don’t think I will ever visit outer space or play professional soccer, but I am pursuing my dream to become a doctor, and I still may find my way into the White House someday. God has blessed me with a passion and aptitude for science, and I plan to pursue this passion wherever it takes me.

In his book The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch said, “It’s not about how to achieve your dreams, it’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.” I believe that everything happens for a reason, that God uses both good and bad experiences to form us into truly unique beings, each with a specific purpose in life. We must follow his path, through all the twists and turns of life, and if we pursue our passions along the way, then the journey becomes the dream.

For us seniors, this is a time to try new things, a time to make new friends, a time to learn, and a time to grow into the men and women we will become when we are finally “all grown up”. As our final days of high school come to an end, we are about to embark on a new journey, but we will take with us the valuable lessons learned throughout our years at GSPC and the love of friends and family.

For all of us, of all ages, at all stages in our lives, now is the time to pursue our passions. For if we trust in the Lord and follow his plan while doing what we love, God will make our dreams come true.