Young Graduates by Pat Simmons

 

Graduations and weddings are both joyful occasions that make me teary-eyed because the possibilities for their future are endless.

I recently spoke as the keynote speaker at  Compton-Drew Investigative Learning Center Middle School's Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony.

The teacher who invited me to deliver the address happened to be my classmate from grade school.

Family, friends, and former students filled the auditorium with high energy and excitement to congratulate the class of almost one hundred students. There were enough cheers, shouts, and applause to embarrass even the most popular student. Helium balloon bouquets spouted up throughout the rows in celebration of the first achievement of their life.

The number of students who received awards was impressive. My address to them was to pick a team and surround themselves with friends who want to see them succeed. If they appointed themselves captain, I would be their cheerleader. I gave them examples of young achievers, from American gymnast Simone Biles to Helms Ategeka, who applied and was accepted to 122 colleges.

Then I mentioned local St. Louis young achievers, from a kid entrepreneur to sports athletes to an international model.

My prayer for them is that they stay safe, stay away from the wrong crowd, and don't let anyone tell them they can't.

As for weddings, when I married my husband more than forty years ago, my second and third-grade teachers attended. They were my heroes, and I hope I made them proud by graduating from college, working in the media, writing dozens of books, and paying it forward to the next generation of graduates.

Congratulations, class of 2024,  from kindergarten to post-graduate. Look out, world!

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Pat Simmons is a multi-published Christian romance author of forty-plus titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth and, a five-time recipient of the RSJ Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance and the 2022 winner of the Leslie Esdaile “Trailblazer” Award.

Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and has worked in radio, television, and print media for over twenty years. She is on the Christian Book Lovers Retreat (CBLR) board as a publicist. Visit her at www.patsimmons.net.

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Here is a great review....

Brian Lawrence

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing and humbling read

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024

Verified Purchase

This is an amazing book that I think every Christian should read. And if you’re a non-Christian, if you want to see what true modern Christianity should look like, then you should read it as well. Be prepared. It’s an interaction with God by these characters that may blow your mind.
From the first page, this book grabbed me. 

The main characters in this book embrace their Christianity way more than most people I know, including myself.
Jude Morgan is the main character, one of the intercessors, and one of the pastors at Christ For All Church in St. Louis. He is awakened by God and told to pray, and that God is coming for the children. An ominous message, for sure, but one that turns out to be multi-faceted. Jude obeys and then God takes him and several others on a spiritual journey, where the characters fight serious spiritual warfare against the demons and the world coming for their children.
It’s an incredible read and needs to be experienced. Not every book I’ve read is an experience, but this one is. The writing is good. The story moves rapidly. Tension builds. The ending is satisfying.

Get your company of DAYS ARE COMING