The following is a letter Dianne Guevara wrote to her 8th grade class as they were approaching graduation:
Dear 8th grade,
Can it really be the end of the year already? It seems just days ago when I welcomed you into my classroom the first day of school. I was so eager and excited to get to know each of you and make a positive impression on you. I hope in some way I did; you all certainly helped to make me a better person and for that I am forever grateful.
So here are my parting words for you. I pray that God continue to lead you all to greatness (holiness!)…
1. You are beautiful, valuable, and precious in God’s eyes!
2. The secret to making your life story great are sacrifice, commitment and hard work
3. Don’t settle. You are worth the wait!
1. There is no way I can force you to realize just how precious you are in God’s eyes. This is something you will have to come to understand and embrace on your own. Remember how I told you that I criticized myself for years and had a poor self-image because I relied on other people to feel “worthy.” When I didn’t have the attention or approval from others (namely, boys) I blamed myself for not being good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, etc. This was such a huge lie. The moment God created me, I was already made perfect. The world will always try to make you believe you are not “enough.” If you constantly compare yourself to others and wish you were different or somehow “better” you will never be satisfied or happy with yourself. I pray that you come to understand that when God looks at you He is filled with complete joy, love and pride.
2. Think of every time you had some kind of achievement. Perhaps a high test grade, a successful project, or an athletic achievement. What kind of preparation did you do to earn that achievement? Sacrifice. You must be willing to give something up (or take something on) to understand the value in something and build a strong will. Commitment. Not for an hour or a day, but until the end. You can’t win a race by staying focused only part of the way. You’ve got to stay committed and find ways to motivate yourself so you don’t give up or find the easy way out. Hard work. How many people want to be successful? How many people want to be role models, admired, and respected for what they do? Of course everyone! But how many people are willing to do what it takes to become that type of person? Not many. You, however, you are different! I know that you are capable of taking on a challenge and seeing it all the way through. I know you have the potential to outlast and overcome any obstacle you encounter. The culture will tell you to just do what “feels good” and benefits you. But you know that you have to go against what the culture tells you. The right thing to do will definitely be difficult and even lonely. But when you become someone with integrity and discipline, who is generous and sacrificial then you will have become a leader that others only wish they could be.
3. Don’t settle. This motto can be applied to every area of your life. But I am specifically talking about relationships. You will see more and more as you get older that people will have little respect for their bodies and the purpose of dating. You will see people your age allowing themselves to be disrespected and not upholding their own dignity. Remember how valuable you are and don’t ever let anyone misuse you. Even more important though, set your standards now so that when the time comes (in a long, long time :)) the person you want to date will know that they will have to sacrifice for you, uphold your dignity, and treat you with the utmost respect and care. Remember how I shared with you the minimum standards Marcus had to meet – asking my dad for permission (and getting to know my family); reading a book – “Arms of Love” – and learning about Theology of the Body; and most important, taking on my promise to save our first kiss for marriage. These kinds of standards are considered “extreme” or “crazy.” But we have a beautiful love story that so many people have told us they only wish they could have. The only crazy thing is that our culture is not willing to sacrifice, be committed or work hard to have this kind of love story! By setting my standards high and not compromising, I challenged Marcus to become a better person and to show me that he was truly interested in me as a person. Remember how many guys walked away after they heard my standards because they were not willing to sacrifice for me. Saving our first kiss for marriage was a beautiful gift that we were able to offer to each other on the day of our wedding as a sign of our love. You deserve that kind of love. That’s why I challenge you not to settle. It may seem difficult and perhaps people your age will not understand or try to convince you not to take on such a challenge. But remember that to make your story great, you must be committed and work hard especially when everyone around you is taking the easy way out. You are meant for greatness. This world has enough followers. We need more leaders like you to raise the bar and proclaim to others that God made you too beautiful and too perfect to settle for anything less than extraordinary. Always remember… you are worth the wait.
Sincerely,
Mrs. “G”
P.S. With your parent’s permission, you can keep up with articles and videos by Marcus and I: www.ThirstingforTruth.com
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