In the best of times, students soar over mountains and valleys Whether a mountaintop experience or a "walk through the valley of the shadow of death," each day this year was full of new possibilities for Harding's students. If handled well, these opportunities yielded success beyond what was hoped. Those were the mountaintop days, and they did not come often enough for most students. Whether success came in the form ofjoining one's first choice social club, acing a test, winning a game, or even landing the perfect job for after graduation, students relished the rare moments when they could look down in satisfaction from their triumphant mountain peaks. At other times, when students did not take advantage of the possibilities presented them or when the possibilities simply did not present themselves at all, came the lower levels oflife. Sometimes, valley days resulted from homesickness; at other times, from arguments with roommates or sleepless nights; and most of all, from stress. Although students evaded them as often as they could, each had to spend some of his or her days in the shadows. The best times of all, however, were passed neither in the valleys nor on the peaks; they were the days when, after climbing to the mountain peak, they rose still higher, mounting up with wings like eagles and soaring for a while. Limited then, not by Earth, but only by the bounds of the imagination, they felt the ultimate joy. Thesewere the moments that made all oflifeworthwhile because these days provided a tiny glimpse into eternity and reinforced the promise of an abundant life above. Wendi Keller ~eople People 43
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==