The Singing Scoutmaster: Crossing Over Clean

Arrow of Light Scouts, in a little while you're going to cross a bridge. On one side is Cub Scouts - everything you've known, all the memories, all the friendships, all the campouts and pinewood derbies and blue and gold banquets. On the other side is Scouts BSA - new adventures, new challenges, and a whole new chapter of your life.

But before you cross that bridge, I want you to think about what you're carrying with you. Not your uniform or your badges - those come with you. I'm talking about the invisible stuff. Over the years, maybe someone in the pack said something that hurt. Maybe you and a friend had a falling out. Maybe there's a Scout you've been annoyed with since second grade and you can't even remember why anymore. That's baggage, and you don't have to carry it across the bridge.

A crossover ceremony is one of the few times in life you get a real, actual fresh start. New troop, new leaders, new patrol, new everything. What an incredible gift that is. But it only works if you let it. If you drag old grudges and old drama into your new troop, you're just starting the same old story in a different place.

So here's my challenge: before you cross that bridge, forgive. Forgive the kid who bugged you. Forgive the friend who let you down. Forgive yourself for the times you weren't the Scout you wanted to be. Set all of it down on the Cub Scout side of the bridge and walk across clean. You've earned this fresh start. Don't weigh it down with yesterday's problems.