Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Congratulations Sarabeth!



Congratulations Sarabeth! You have finished K-12 well. Gone are the imaginary Velcro strips pinned on by concerned friends and family. In their place are the wings of independence, I never doubted would sprout.

In Kindergarten, your teacher remarked that she had a class with several quiet, respectful, diligent students-and you were one of them. “But,” she said looking me in the eye, “there is so much more to Sarabeth. She isn’t just a quiet, hard-working girl.” She looked at me intently, without saying more. She didn’t have to. I knew exactly what she meant.

Mrs. Rowe saw passion, determination, a glowing ember inside this little girl. When necessary the spark could ignite to rage against the flames of adversity. Once a year, each teacher awarded one student with the Diligence Award Pin. That award went to you. God whispered to you at the tender age of 6, revealing gifts He’s placed within you.

You play by the rules & demand fairness. You go along quietly, completely every task set before you. But you aren’t afraid to stop the train, if you see it traveling down the wrong track. You stand firmly & without hesitation, whether or not you stand alone is inconsequential. You maintain the path of integrity.

It isn’t your nature to shine in the spotlight. But when called upon to lead, you step forward with grace and confidence. Others follow.

My fair-haired, blue-eyed little girl is now a beautiful, talented, wise, educated, young lady. Don’t worry that you don’t have your college major picked yet. You take after your multi-talented grandmother. Like her, I doubt you will be locked into any one vocation in life. You are more like the Virtuous Woman spoken of in Proverbs 31. She accomplished many things, and excelled at them all.

I’m so very proud of you, Sarabeth.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Sarabeth!

FLmom7 said...

Congratulations to Sarabeth! How exciting!

His Girl said...

*sniffle* very sweet. congrats!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

PJ said...

What a beautiful tribute!!! I'm all weepy now...Congratulations to Sarabeth!! She's also very beautiful--but the eyes tell the story of beauty on the inside!!

Melanie said...

Congrats, Sarabeth!

Wow, does she ever resemble you, Joanne!

Anonymous said...

That is SO awesome. Congratulations to her

Lori said...

Congratulations Sarabeth!!

Kristin said...

Congratulations to her -- she looks just like her Mom!