Jun 23, 2017
by Madge Chroniger
Alfred Station SDB Church, NY
I never knew that the reality of leaving high school would hit me as hard as it did. I remember the exact day when I finally realized it would all be over. As cheesy as it sounds, it was right after my last band rehearsal, the day of the last concert. I walked out of the band room full of such sorrow. As tears filled my eyes I knew I was leaving the few things that had made up my life for the past eight years — my friends, my family, my music community, my church — all of it gone. The actuality of starting a new life in a new place with new people and no family or friends on campus was a huge reality shock that terrified me. It seemed as if everything I had been working for was all going to be gone. At that point I felt like I wasn’t ready for this new step in my life. I was ready to tell my parents I wasn’t going to college because I had become so nervous about what was out there in this new chapter. I wasn’t ready to take on all of the chaos the world was ready to throw at me by myself. But little did I know that God had been preparing me for this day for a while. As I looked back on how I was raised, I knew I was ready to conquer whatever the world hurled at me to diminish my beliefs.
Since I started school at Alfred Almond in 5th grade, even up to end of the senior year, I have always struggled to stand up for what I believe in. The biggest part of my faith battle in high school has been the many explanations of being a Sabbatarian. Explaining why I couldn’t go to that party on Friday night or that sporting event Saturday morning was difficult because most of the kids in my school didn’t know how to wrap their heads around the concept. At first when I was explaining, it was something my parents wouldn’t let me do — that it was Sabbath because that was a household chore, not a belief. As I have developed my faith over the years I have come to this wonderful appreciation for Sabbath and it has become my own conviction.
I know that I will have more struggles to come in college and in my future life — some that are far bigger than the day I choose to worship. I know wholeheartedly that my God, my parents, and my denominational family have trained me to be a solider for Christ to share my love as He would. Matthew 5:13-14 says “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill.” This Scripture has been a huge help in my faith-war throughout high school — teaching me to share Christ and His word no matter the situation because we are to be the salt and light for this world, helping others taste the Godliness and see the bright light of Him. Christ is not to be kept as a secret from anyone!