Less than two weeks and we're back. The campus that has been waiting eagerly for the routine of its inhabitants will be reunited with them. The place will come alive with the sound of students and faculty, lunches being eaten, bells being rung, lockers being open and shut. And I am grateful.
I don't think I've ever so eagerly anticipated the return to school. It isn't that I haven't appreciated a summer spent in the sun and the chlorine of a pool (trust me, summertime is better chlorinated), a summer with my younger daughter learning to paddle and my older daughter bravely taking swim tests, with trips to the library and picnic lunches, family vacation and so many hugs I lost count. I've loved it. But it's also been a summer of heart brokenness. I don't think that I have ever lived a summer like this one, watching those I love hurt so deeply that there are no words of comfort, only prayers of hope. So I'm ready for this summer to end and for us to return.
In between the pool and vacation and prayers and laughter and hugs, there's been dreaming and planning, anticipation and collaboration, reading and learning and praying. So I'm ready. Ready to see your faces and see how much you've grown and hear about what you did and saw and heard. And as you get ready to come back, here's my prayer for you this year. For each of you that will step foot onto this campus, for each of you that are hurting, are whole, are unhappy, are joyful, it's for each of you that I will have the privilege to walk with this year. I am grateful for you.
I pray that you live intentionally. It's one thing to be here. But it's another to be here with a purpose. Make a decision to live on purpose. I dare you. Make a decision about who you want to follow and who you want to be. Ask yourself if you are just going through the motions, putting one foot in front of the other because if you keep doing it, you'll end up somewhere, even if you don't know where. Or are you putting one foot in the other with your eyes on the horizon, choosing a path that would have to fulfilling God's purpose for you? So, live intentionally, my dearest students. Be here on purpose.
I pray that you live beautifully. I went to three different memorial services this summer. Each harder than the last. But in these services I watched the word of God come alive in His people. At each memorial I watched as someone added to the beauty of the hurting. A prayer. A hug. An arm to lean on. Live beautifully by adding to the beauty around you. As you walk through this school year, take the time to look around you and add to the beauty of someone's life around you. Do something beautiful. It doesn't have to be hard. It might be carrying a book, picking up a piece of trash, opening a door, or turning and smiling. So, live beautifully. Add to the beauty around you.
I pray that you return gratefully. Discontentment is a cruel and tempting mistress. It's so easy for us to look around, for me, too, and play the "What if ..." game. What if we had 600 students? What if there was a bathroom in the high school building (you know you've all thought that before ...)? What if lunch were longer? What if we could wear whatever we wanted? Fight it. Fight the flesh that says that this isn't enough. Receive that promise that He is enough for you, because He is. Be discontent in the things that He calls you to change, knowing that He is molding you to be more like Him. But return gratefully to what He's already given you.
I pray that you love and are loved deeply. This one is so hard. It's sometimes easy for us to love others that are like us, and we can even tell ourselves to love others that aren't like us, that we wouldn't normally choose to love. But to love deeply and completely, we have to take a risk. The risk of being rejected, of being hurt, of being wrong about ourselves. Trust me, the discomfort is worth the potential. It's sometimes harder for us to allow ourselves to be loved. To love and allow ourselves to be loved we have to be unafraid to be hurt. That second part is the hardest. Fearlessness is knowing that if you fall, someone will catch you. He always will. Love. Be loved. And do it deeply, with your whole heart and soul.
I miss you guys. See you soon.
I don't think I've ever so eagerly anticipated the return to school. It isn't that I haven't appreciated a summer spent in the sun and the chlorine of a pool (trust me, summertime is better chlorinated), a summer with my younger daughter learning to paddle and my older daughter bravely taking swim tests, with trips to the library and picnic lunches, family vacation and so many hugs I lost count. I've loved it. But it's also been a summer of heart brokenness. I don't think that I have ever lived a summer like this one, watching those I love hurt so deeply that there are no words of comfort, only prayers of hope. So I'm ready for this summer to end and for us to return.
In between the pool and vacation and prayers and laughter and hugs, there's been dreaming and planning, anticipation and collaboration, reading and learning and praying. So I'm ready. Ready to see your faces and see how much you've grown and hear about what you did and saw and heard. And as you get ready to come back, here's my prayer for you this year. For each of you that will step foot onto this campus, for each of you that are hurting, are whole, are unhappy, are joyful, it's for each of you that I will have the privilege to walk with this year. I am grateful for you.
I pray that you live intentionally. It's one thing to be here. But it's another to be here with a purpose. Make a decision to live on purpose. I dare you. Make a decision about who you want to follow and who you want to be. Ask yourself if you are just going through the motions, putting one foot in front of the other because if you keep doing it, you'll end up somewhere, even if you don't know where. Or are you putting one foot in the other with your eyes on the horizon, choosing a path that would have to fulfilling God's purpose for you? So, live intentionally, my dearest students. Be here on purpose.
I pray that you live beautifully. I went to three different memorial services this summer. Each harder than the last. But in these services I watched the word of God come alive in His people. At each memorial I watched as someone added to the beauty of the hurting. A prayer. A hug. An arm to lean on. Live beautifully by adding to the beauty around you. As you walk through this school year, take the time to look around you and add to the beauty of someone's life around you. Do something beautiful. It doesn't have to be hard. It might be carrying a book, picking up a piece of trash, opening a door, or turning and smiling. So, live beautifully. Add to the beauty around you.
I pray that you return gratefully. Discontentment is a cruel and tempting mistress. It's so easy for us to look around, for me, too, and play the "What if ..." game. What if we had 600 students? What if there was a bathroom in the high school building (you know you've all thought that before ...)? What if lunch were longer? What if we could wear whatever we wanted? Fight it. Fight the flesh that says that this isn't enough. Receive that promise that He is enough for you, because He is. Be discontent in the things that He calls you to change, knowing that He is molding you to be more like Him. But return gratefully to what He's already given you.
I pray that you love and are loved deeply. This one is so hard. It's sometimes easy for us to love others that are like us, and we can even tell ourselves to love others that aren't like us, that we wouldn't normally choose to love. But to love deeply and completely, we have to take a risk. The risk of being rejected, of being hurt, of being wrong about ourselves. Trust me, the discomfort is worth the potential. It's sometimes harder for us to allow ourselves to be loved. To love and allow ourselves to be loved we have to be unafraid to be hurt. That second part is the hardest. Fearlessness is knowing that if you fall, someone will catch you. He always will. Love. Be loved. And do it deeply, with your whole heart and soul.
I miss you guys. See you soon.
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