“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say..."
Early College High School valedictorian Alem Hadzic has gone viral after he took the stage at his graduation ceremony to deliver his speech—just hours after his father's funeral.
"I remember the weight. Feeling the darkness drag me down to a place I thought even God couldn’t go. Where I was a nothing and nothing really mattered. Where loneliness devoured my insides but no human being could fill the void. In that moment, I knew only the darkness."
"We all do wrong. Nobody’s perfect. It didn’t matter if you’ve been saved your whole life or you walk into my church with full-on tattoos. I accept them for who they are."
We may not be called to give up our jobs or leave our families in the same way, but walking with Jesus is far more than adding God as a helpful accessory to our busy lives.
