Good News For Youth (GNFY) published under the oversight of the Alkire Rd Church of Christ elders and posted by permission of the editor.
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I cannot buy you a set of morals; I cannot
build you a sense of responsibility; I cannot hand you appreciation of
beauty; I cannot manufacture for you concern and compassion; I cannot make
yours a compelling, faithful, loyal spirit; I cannot give you the ability
to love.
I have no fortune to will you with which to gain popularity, make you a philanthropist, or help you leave a memorial for charity.
I own no secret formula for success nor any new philosophy. I’ve never written a book on wisdom. I cannot send you away into the world on your own, with beautiful pictures only in your memory, |
for you have seen
me cry faithless tears of despair; you have witnessed ugliness in my
time of weakness. These things I cannot give you are all yours in Christ
Jesus.
As you accept your diploma, severing your relations with school, you step into new relations with parents, friends, and the world. The "apron strings" that have been lengthened as you matured must be cut.
You have earned more than freedom from school. You have proven yourself trustworthy, dependable, and mature enough to try your own wings, but I will be "on-call" throughout life. |
-- A Parent, June 2000 --
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