There’s an old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Raising a child well is a task only achieved through the collective effort of people in a village. Each person in that village carries something that is necessary to nurture and build up the child. In the same way, it takes every person in the Trinitas community to raise a child and to raise a senior class. Our parents have given us a roof over our head. Teachers have supplied each of us with knowledge. Our churches have given us a place to worship and serve others. Mr. Cowart has led us in reading the Scriptures every morning, Mr. Varela has taught us to sing. Each of our friends and family have had an influence on all eight of us. If time permitted, I could go on and on about people who have influenced and shaped our path. But, on behalf of the class of 2026, I would like to thank each person that has interacted with our class for helping and supporting us in many ways, both directly and indirectly. To everyone in the Trinitas community, truly, thank you.
The message that I want to share tonight is not something that only matters in school, church, or at work. Instead, it applies to the entirety of life no matter your circumstances. To quote the great songwriter Sam Cooke, “change is gonna come.”
Change–or the Greek, μεταβολή, –is something we encounter every day. We get tired. We get hungry. The weather changes. The stock market changes. Your grades change–sometimes for the worse. What’s viewed as good changes. People change. Time changes. Everything around us is constantly changing for better or for worse.
Yet some changes are more significant than others. Maybe you are graduating. Maybe you started a new job. Maybe you had two teeth knocked out by your lifelong friend. Maybe you lose a relationship with someone close to you. Or maybe, it’s the loss of a job…the loss of a family member…or even divorce.
When you experience a change of this magnitude, remember this. We serve an unchanging God. As Paul writes in Hebrews, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Our God is the same, day in and day out. But because our God is unchanging, the purpose for our life must likewise be unchanging.
As we leave this chapter of our lives and step into the next one, we will be pulled in different directions. Some of us will go to college, some into careers, some into the military, and others into places we never expected. We will encounter a lot of success and failure, certainty and confusion, joy and disappointment. The world around us will continue to change and so will we. But throughout all this change, our purpose remains the same. In I Corinthians 10, Paul defines our purpose: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
One hymn that captures this truth especially well is Horatio Spafford’s “It is Well with My Soul.” Spafford writes, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
While the lyrics and tune are beautiful, what makes this hymn powerful is the story behind its writing. Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago, yet in 1871, he lost his only son in a fire. A year later, due to business losses, he sent his wife and four daughters to England while he stayed back. However, their ship collided with another ship, and Spafford’s four daughters were killed. On his way to comfort his grieving wife, Spafford’s ship passed over where the accident happened. It was at that point that he wrote this hymn. Spafford had endured the hardest of changes, yet when his grief was greatest, he turned to the Lord for strength.
In closing, I am going to read the opening lines of the hymn again. This time I want you to think about how you respond to change and trials. I want you to think about how you will glorify God and trust in His goodness no matter the circumstances.
“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
This Valedictorian Address was delivered by graduating senior Master Joshua Tenniswood on May 15, 2026.