A Prayer for Schools

Another beautiful Sunday has come and almost gone but what a glorious Lord's Day this has been! We celebrated homecoming at our church and were graced with the company of many family members who no longer live in the area but came back for a visit. It was wonderful seeing these folks, especially to hear our visiting preacher, a former member of our own church, one who grew up here and made his initial decision to follow Jesus here. Craig is a fine young man and a wonderful preacher, a very dynamic speaker who really appealed to the congregation. It was really great to be able to visit with him and his parents once again (His dad is a former pastor of our church).

It seems that sad things continue to happen; yet that is way of life I suppose. We lost another cousin yesterday so we spent tonight at his wake. Bill was a wonderful husband, father, and a friend to many. He will be remembered for his kindness and generosity to others.

School has begun once again and I must admit that I do not miss getting up early each weekday to get to work. In fact, I am very content to sit and watch the school buses as they amble down the highways picking up children. I asked my older sister if she missed going and she agreed with me. Now, if we can get our younger sister retired in the next year or two, perhaps we can enjoy going and doing more fun things together as we watch the wheels on the bus go round and round. I was asked as recent as tonight if I would please return to system-wide administration, just for one year. Guess what my response was...well, it definitely wasn't okay. I merely asked, "Do I look like I have lost my mind?" No, I will leave that to the younger folks who still have the energy to continue the educational traditions. I will lift up my daughter and my 2 nieces in prayer as they continue their teaching careers. I offer my prayers up for each and every staff member in the schools. I pray that their year will be most successful; the children will be eager to learn and be well-behaved; the parents will be cooperative with staff and discipline their children as needs arise; administrators make wise decisions for educators, staff and students; and, adults and children will love and respect each other each day.