Currently we are engaged in a remodel project of the sanctuary that makes me very excited about our ability to be accessible to all. As a result we are not recording the Sunday morning messages to share on our Vimeo channel. So while we wait…..
Tomorrow the students in our town go back to school. It feels like this reality is full of mixed emotions for anyone’s home that has a student or students. The adults in the home look forward to a return to the structure of a school year. There really is freedom in having a set schedule outside of our having to create one. It is not like it is something that we are overly gleeful about, but we all admit that it is pretty good to have them back in school. Then comes the emotions that pop up when you realize (like I did) that your oldest is walking through the doors of the teen years by going off to junior high school. Plus, there is the youngest having only one more year before he goes off to all day kindergarten.
I don’t fear, weep, or lament that my children are growing up. At the same time I do recognize that with each new phase that my wife and I help the kids celebrate we say good-bye to something else that will not return. That is hard. However, I can not and should not keep them from growing up to be adults. My goal is to help them see life as an adventure needing to be lived. I can’t do that if I try to keep them at an age they will not remain at physically.
Adults in the home are not the only ones wrestling with emotions. The children, youth, young adults (the students) all have their own battles. On the one hand it is another new year which means that everyone can see the new you after two and half months away. On the other hand there is the worry that the other students will not let you forget your past (good or bad). There are the students that are trying new schools and can’t wait to meet new friends. At the same time there are those who are dreading the first day at the new school, because they have to make new friends.
First days are hard for homes of school staff and teachers as well. Will I be effective in reaching and teaching my students? Will the class of students care or can I get them to care by the end of the year? Will I be seen favorably by parents or will they misunderstand what I am doing?
These are only a couple of the scenes in homes tonight as students go back tomorrow, but they do not cover them all.
At the end of this day, before I sleep, I will thank God for one more day of summer with my kids. I will pray for each of them, for their teachers, and even though I may not know you personally I will pray for you as well. Life is hard, but we don’t have to walk it alone. May the God of peace give you hope and rest.
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 