A New Year
The beginning of every school year starts with excitement and nerves, new classrooms, new (and old) friends and so much more. Students come to school and begin learning new routines and remembering old ones. Parents get into the swing of drop-offs and pick-ups again. Homework, clubs, after school activities all begin again in earnest with the beginning of the new academic year.
The teachers and staff at YCS began planning for the new school year at the end of the old year. One of the first bits of new school year preparation is choosing the school theme for the next academic year. The school theme for this school year is:
Keep Calm and Trust God
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Throughout this new school year, the YCS learning community will be focusing on these verses. I was fortunate to give the first Elementary Worship message of the school year. I’d like to share a bit of what I spoke about to our elementary students.
Throughout this new school year, the YCS learning community will be focusing on these verses. I was fortunate to give the first Elementary Worship message of the school year. I’d like to share a bit of what I spoke about to our elementary students.
The book of Proverbs is a book written by King Solomon, one of the wisest figures in the Bible. The wisdom imparted in Proverbs comes in two parts: understanding the fear of the Lord (chapters 1-9) and wisdom for life (chapters 10-31). When asked about the meaning of “fear,” most people think of being afraid. However, to “fear the Lord” means to be in awe, wonder, and reverence toward Him.
Trusting God means to be in awe of Him and to trust Him with all that we do. When we do that, He will make our paths straight. During worship, I asked the children if that meant that the road is always easy. Will that path always – in our human understanding – mean that it is straight? The answer is no. What we conceive as humans for what a straight path means is that the path is flat and easy. However, a straight path by God’s definition may not be smooth nor straight, but it will always lead us back to Him.
As the new school year begins and we embark on this new path together, there may be some bumps along the way, but throughout the year we will focus on what trusting God looks like. In addition to Proverbs, we will look at Psalm 23 to further help us understand what trust can look like, that even when we feel alone in our troubles, God is still by our side.
We are excited to be at the beginning of this 2024-25 school year and we hope that your child is too. May this school year’s journey be full of academic curiosity, exploration, and individual growth for your child and your family.
