Dear St. George’s Family,
I am writing this letter to our entire church but particularly to those with school-aged children. You are being asked to make difficult decisions concerning your children and the coming school year. The details of going back to school vary across our area based on factors that include school board and age and grade of students. Some families will see their children return to school five days per week while others will attend alternating days. Some children will require masks while others are deemed to be too young to wear them. I have heard from other parents who will choose to keep their children home, either opting for home schooling curriculum or making use of the online lessons provided by their schools. The options are overwhelming and every decision comes with a cost.
Last week we gathered for an online prayer meeting. I heard a few consistent themes of concern. First, parents are concerned about their children being potentially exposed to the virus over long durations in the close quarters of a classroom. Second, parents are concerned about the impact this could have on their families. Specifically their ability to visit older or vulnerable family members once school starts. Third, there are concerns over the apparent lack of a plan or protocol. For example, what will happen if one student or teacher presents with symptoms? Will the entire class be forced into quarantine until their test results come back? Will the entire school? What will be the impact on parent’s ability to work and provide for their families if their children are home during the semester? Fourth, parents who are choosing to keep their children at home are concerned for their socialization. There were many more, deep and far reaching concerns expressed in that prayer meeting. We listened to each other and then took those burdens to the Lord.
What a Friend
What a Friend We Have in Jesus was my grandmother’s favourite hymn.
- What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer - Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer - Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer - Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer
Perhaps we gloss over the words of this song, dismissing it as quaint piety from a simpler time. Arrogance and distance of time allow us to look back glibly on the struggles of past generations. Or maybe this song exposes our anemic view of friendship. But don’t miss it! There is no greater comfort for the Christian man or woman than friendship with Jesus and the privilege to carry everything to Him in prayer. This simple song serves as a reminder to every one of us, especially right now, to parents with school-aged children.
I am not writing to guide or suggest that you either send your children to school or keep them home next month. Instead, I write to remind you of things you already know. Here are three truths from scripture.
A Loving Heavenly Father
First, you have a heavenly Father who loves your children even more than you do. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25–26 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” You and your children have a loving heavenly Father.
He is Sovereign
Second, He is sovereign. In other words the circumstance may be troubling and uncertain, but God places the best things on the other side of worry. There is no greater gain than knowing God, diving ever more deeply into his character and finding Him trustworthy. That cannot be known in times of ease but only through faith-refining times of hardship. Psalm 121 says, ”I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” Through this time both you and your children will come to know and trust God more and more.
All Things Work Together For Good
Third, our sovereign God is always working things out for your good and for His glory, especially when it doesn’t seem so. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” No where in scripture is this seen more clearly than in the life of Jesus. Even His darkest hour was redeemed and, in fact, part of the Father’s best plan for His Son and for all of His people. Somehow God will bring something good even from this season.
I will leave you with this final, well-known scripture from Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
If you find yourself anxious, short of breath or perhaps even sleeplessly worrying about your children this fall, preach your best sermon to your own soul. Remind yourself that you have a good heavenly father who loves your children and is in control. Take it to your Friend in prayer and leave it with him.
Redeeming this Moment
That is how you will redeem this moment. You will grow in love and trust in Jesus. Your children will watch you and see that they, too, have a friend in Jesus. This present crisis will pass. But you and your family will be left with a life-changing, comfort-giving, confidence-instilling legacy. You will have “found a friend so faithful”. Then not one moment of this crisis will have been wasted. Watch this video of our own Elora and see how our young children can turn to the Lord in difficult times.
I love you all. I am sorry for the difficult road you have to walk these days. But I know that you can turn to the Lord and find him faithful.
RD
