freedom school
July 25, 2008
It’s one thing to celebrate accomplishment. It’s another (glorious) thing to celebrate hard-won accomplishment. Tonite — attending “Freedom School Graduation” at CFBC — I watched and celebrated with about a hundred students (elementary-high school) basking in such glorious accomplishment.
I don’t know many stories from the lives of these specific students (though I teach Sunday school to a few of them once a month so have a couple stashed away!), but statistics from the urban core where they live are enough to prompt my imagination and (then) my appreciation for what this summer school program means to them. Tonite’s graduation included performances in song & dance … recitation of original poetry & drama. It was good. It was messy. It was genuinely funny. Utterly endearing.
Watching the grand finale from the back of a full house, I saw 100+ beautiful, shining students singing and swaying to the tune of hope. I cried.
Gets me every time: the story of redemption — success — smack in the midst of life’s ugliness. And I am compelled to live deeper or more … or somehow more truly. Here’s to beating the odds … (and so, shaping my world).
