Pomp and Circumstance

This past weekend our little ex-pat family gathered to celebrate a somewhat American high school graduation. In France, high school ends with a series of very difficult exams, the results of which one discovers sometime in July. There are no robes, funny hats or relatives crammed onto stadium bleachers. So, to make up for the lack of pomp and circumstance, our team has a tradition of conducting a graduation for those who will be going off to the U.S. to university. It is always a bittersweet time full of sharing, blessing and prayer. Here's a picture of me with this year's grad and the quilt I made for her. The back is a fabric that has a Paris map all over it. (check out the picture of everyone studying the back of the quilt!)

I shed many tears at the graduation. We all live far from our extended families and hometowns. The team becomes a sort of surrogate family. The children of my colleagues are like nieces and nephews--they are almost like siblings to our kids. We have spent Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays and other special moments together. Like any celebration of a life's passage, there are tears, but we all love a day together rejoicing at God's faithfulness in the life of a godly young person stepping out into the world.

I'll attach one more picture--this is all of the kids. Can you find my three?