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One of the most difficult things to watch as a parent or teacher is the process of maturity in the life of a young person. God has allowed the dangers of this world to influence our culture and spread into the lives and desires of our youth. And the world’s traps aren’t taking a day off.
Without a positive role model young people will be solely influenced by the world. Role models are not hard to come by; sports figures, athletes, movies stars, etc. Christlike role models are more rare.
We have been privileged to welcome the students from Cedarville University to come to WHS for our Spring Spiritual Emphasis program again this year. They have put together a dynamic program in speaking to our students and sharing their life testimonies. But more than anything, they bring what no single Bible preacher can bring, which is a young life that displays an unashamed following after Christ.
Our kids at Windermere have heard the gospel their whole lives, but they do not often see the gospel lived out by young people, their peers, or other influential individuals who can serve as role models. These CU students come and publicly share their decisions for purity in marriage, their struggles in their christian walk, and their testimonies for how God captured their attention.
I watch our WHS students locked in to their presentations, and absorbing more than the lesson, they are seeing positive examples of christian role models. It is my prayer that God will allow the lives of these CU students to imprint on the hearts of our youth here at Windermere. I know this is already happening. Even halfway through the sessions I’ve had a handful of our WHS students ask me how they can enroll and attend Cedarville University after they graduate.
I could pages and pages of how CU has been and encouragement to us during their time here, such as their volunteering for our Fair Day, or their labor in construction work to prep for this summer’s teams, or singing with them under the stars with the guitar praising with those old-school praise songs that I used to sing when I was a student at CU a dozen years ago, or how they helped volunteer in our annual community clean up day! Suffice to say, that we are so extremely grateful for the investment Cedarville has made in the lives of our students. We entrust their gift to our Lord to bring the growth.