If you had visited the Beirut Baptist School in July you would have felt the hustle and bustle of graduation ceremonies, official exams, and summer camp preparations. Together with the BBS family, we got to celebrate the promotion of 88 preschoolers into their schooling journey to first-grade, and the graduation of 77 seniors into higher education. However, as we immerse ourselves this month in His mission for this world through The Lord’s prayer, one graduation ceremony stood out among the rest!
On June 12th, families of different cultural and religious backgrounds rejoiced in the achievements of their 5-year-olds. Needless to say, watching young boys and girls walk across the stage and receive their diplomas may be slightly strange to some. What had they accomplished already at such a young age? As names were called, I watched each one of them search the audience for their parents before they confidently walked towards the podium. Hesitant at first, each child took a few small steps to secure the visibility of their parents as a safety measure before proceeding with a smile.
I thought to myself, “how cute is that”? One does not tend to see that hesitation among high school graduates who just want to speed through the ceremony and rush to college. Then it occurred to me that this is a parallel behavior that we often take on with our Heavenly Father. At the beginning of our faith journey, we are in a constant search for security, the affirmation of the divine, before moving forward. A few years into a life with Christ, we become more certain of our decisions. We develop the ability to confidently detect the voice of God in our lives as a result of the time we had spent getting to know the name of the One who has made His name Holy and is never changing.
At the Beirut Baptist School, we have so much to be grateful for as these children are entrusted to us for the next 12 years. Besides our academic mandate, we pray that each boy and girl in our care will come to know that they are loved by God and that He desires to give them life and to give it abundantly.
MAY-LEE MELKI
Development Officer | LSESD