South Carolina public high school class president and valedictorian Lydia Owens delivered an amazing, faith-filled speech while she addressed her fellow classmates during a commencement speech, which led to her words, captured on video, going viral almost immediately. This is a great example of Christian boldness.
According to a report from Fox News, Owens, 18, graduated recently from Woodmont High School, which is located in Piedmont, South Carolina. In an interview with Fox News Digital, the graduate said that it was not long after Christmas when she found out she was “kind of in the running for class valedictorian.”
Then, after the first semester of Owens’ senior year, she said it was solidified she’d be the one. Owens said that she “debated for a long time … how to approach talking about my faith in my speech.” In the interview, the high school graduate said, “I definitely always knew that I wanted to [speak about faith], because my faith is who I am. It’s the center of my life, so I knew that I wanted to mention it, but I didn’t know how to do that.”
However, after having a conversation with a few of her close friends, Owens became firm in what she knew she had to say during her speech. “I was talking about how I was a little worried about how people would respond to me talking about my faith, but I told my friends that I really wanted to talk more about Jesus in my speech,” the young woman remarked.
Later, Owens said that her friends responded by saying, “Well, why wouldn’t you? You know, aren’t we supposed to be bold in our faith? And when are you going to have another opportunity to speak in front of thousands of people?” This is a very true statement. In the Bible, Jesus commands His followers to go around and share the gospel with the hope being that many will repent of their sins and dedicate themselves to Him.
She then added, “Actually, when they told me that, I was like, ‘You know, that’s a really good point. Why would I not?’” Owens revealed that she went home that night and “scratched my entire rough draft of what I thought I wanted to talk about in my speech.”
Continuing the interview, Owens said, “And I just sat there and I prayed, and I was like, ‘Jesus, you just speak through me. Let this be exactly what you want to say, not what I want to say.’” Many Christians believe that the Holy Spirit guides them through their lives and when they are called upon like Owens, in a public way with a large audience, He will provide assistance they need in order to express His will.
Analyzing what she said and how it impacted not only those in the audience but now the entire world, Owens said, “And I truly believe that’s what he did. I don’t think those were my words — I didn’t come up with that. Jesus told me to write that and I just followed what he told me to do.”
“No matter what your future holds, please remember that life is so much more than how successful you are. Even if you accomplish all of your dreams or none of them at all, you are still valuable and still good enough, because you are made in the image of God,” Owens said in the speech. “You don’t have to worry about whether or not you’ll be successful because God promises that his grace is sufficient for us and his power is made perfect in our weakness.”
Owens attributes much of her faith to the example set by her mother, who she said also demonstrated the love of Jesus to others, going out of her way to share the gospel whenever possible. She also said her mom was active in the church and community.
Featured image is a screenshot from embedded YouTube video.
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