With less than four weeks until the end of regular classes, followed by two more weeks of exams, and end of year procedures, school students and staff have summer on the brain.
There is an ebb and flow to school life, as there is in every other area of life, with some years being more successful than others. There are school years that, for staff and students, may be more :
exhilarating … or fatiguing
enhanced by our personal lives … or adversely affected by them
uplifting … or depressing … or worse, apathetic
changing … or static
challenging … or easy
supported … or lonely
With each pro and con comes a beautiful reality … in the field of education each year is a fresh start, a brand new beginning. No matter what kind of year this school year has been (whether staff or student), a brand new next year awaits us all in September.
It reminds me of the Easter-related phrase “it’s Friday, but Sunday’s a coming.” A phrase about the sorrow of Good Friday, the day that the Christ was crucified, died and placed in the tomb. The day of much sorrow and sadness. But within the phrase is the essence of the light at the end of the dark tunnel … Sunday, the day Jesus rose from his death, the day that God hit the re-set button on human history, and hope was restored.
Folks, whether you work in a school, are a student in a school, or a parent walking the school road each day:
it’s May …
you are tired, worn down, calendars are jam-packed, exams loom on the horizon, and then … report cards …
but,
September’s a coming …
you have the hope of starting fresh like a brand new piece of lined loose leaf, in a brand new binder, with a freshly sharpened pencil in hand.
But, we don’t have to wait for September for things to get better.
Now is the time to remind ourselves,
to finish well.
Complete that notebook with the best essay of the year.
Complete those classes with the most enthusiasm of the year.
Complete those report cards with encouraging words.
Maybe even write a note and place it in your kid’s lunch, or volunteer (again) for that last field trip.
Stay Strong … Finish Well!
“ I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”
Philippians 3:12-14
Press on …
