And the winner is . . . .

And the winner is. . . .  Emily Long. 

Emily Long is the very first recipient of the Scott Bradley “Life is an Adventure” scholarship.    It was such an honor and a blessing to present the scholarship this morning to Emily. After Pastor Marc shared a little bit about Emily, her character, and her faith with me this past week, it felt very fitting that she be the first recipient.  Emily volunteered her time to provide childcare at Scott’s funeral for family and friends traveling from out of the area.  She is set to attend Lancaster Bible College in the fall – my alma mater.

 In the four or five weeks since I agreed to be a part of the scholarship I have been agonizing over what to share this morning.   After many scribbling and crossing out of words and sentences, I finally had something in writing by Wednesday night this past week.  I put it aside and didn’t think about it again until last night.  After re-reading what I wrote, it left me with an unsettled feeling that it didn’t quite say what it needed to say.  After thinking about it overnight, while taking a shower this morning words and phrases began circling in my head.  As soon as I was out of the shower, I sat down and began putting those words onto paper.  The end result was quite different from my original thoughts and only had one sentence in common.   Here is what I shared with the graduates this morning:

“It is such a blessing and honor to be a part of continuing Scott’s legacy in the presentation of this scholarship.  In thinking about what to share this morning, I have written and re-written my thoughts many times.  I would like to share with you lessons that Scott learned in life and I have learned from his life and death.  Scott would want to tell you that life with God is a grand adventure.  Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and try new things.  Always search out God and be open to whatever He is leading you to do.  Trust that God is using you to make a difference – even if you can’t see it in the moment.  Dream big, but be open to God’s even bigger dreams for your life.  Taking the next step with God can be fun and scary at the same time, but He will provide everything you need when you need it.  And most of all, have fun on the journey.”

It was a blessing to have Scott’s parents, sisters, brother-in-law, niece, and uncle come from Mechanicsburg, Shippensburg, and Meadville (5 ½ hours away) to be present for the presentation of the Scott Bradley “Life is an Adventure” scholarship, as well as my parents.  This scholarship is very meaningful to us in remembering Scott and carrying on his legacy.

And, yes I made it through without crying, stuttering, or tripping.  God truly calmed my nerves and I was not even nervous when I was up front.  Thank you everyone for the prayers for calmness and clarity of thought and voice.