One of the neat traditions at my son’s high school comes during “senior chapel” when each senior is given a prayer book with a verb inscribed on the inside front cover. The faculty members select the verbs, which are carefully chosen to reflect each individual student. It was quite interesting to hear the different verbs given to my son’s classmates. Some were predictable (leap for a long-jumper, create for an artist) but others were more intriguing (persuade, defend).
The chaplain explained that the tradition arose from a visit to a historic cemetery. She noticed that the gravestones were inscribed with nouns: doctor, lawyer, mother, brother, but those words didn’t give her a feel for who the people were. As the chaplain said, our spiritual identities are about verbs–what we do, the choices we make, how we live our lives. She reminded the students that while high school (and college and beyond) can make nouns–labels–seem so important, we will be remembered by what we do, not by our titles.
What is your verb?
