Back to School
We’ve handed our children back. They are no longer just ours. Now, the biggest part of their days, they belong to Mrs. Woodward, and Mr. Sutter. Their Beatrice Public School keepers communicate with us via copied colored paper with messages about school lunches, parking passes and eye exams. Its time to clear a spot on the refrigerator for this year’s magnet messages.
The deregulation of their summer sleep patterns has come to a halt. We tried to begin bending their bedtimes back to reality these past two weeks. They fought it all the way. Now, just being tired from the day at school will finally force their heads down on their pillows at a decent time once again. Starting Monday, the high-schoolers will report to band practice at 7:30 a.m. each day. Our grade-schooler can walk out our door at 8:15 a.m. and be at the fifth grade door by 8:20 a.m. no problem. Everyone gets done with school at 3:30 p.m.
Fortunately, they break us in gradually. The full force of the fall schedule builds for a while here. Dance doesn’t start for a couple weeks. Wednesday night church stuff (Kids Kamp, Youth Bells, Godparent Groups) doesn’t begin ‘til after Labor Day.
This year the Karges family has the additional pressure of having a Senior in the house. All the “lasts” have begun with the “last first day of school.” We’re already grieving her leaving and she’s still here for at least 11 months.
School forces us to fold our lives into its calendar. There is an additional layer of structure to bump up against.
Now is the time to get involved with that Bible study your friends have been bugging you about. Singing in the choir, or playing in the Gracenotes band might be just how God wants you to share your gifts this year. Do my Sunday School class in the fellowship hall that discusses the scripture for that day in worship, or dive into the Sunday Night DVD discussion group. Now may be the time to deepen your faith. Pray about it – then take the plunge. School isn’t the only institution to fold your life into this fall. Bump up against the church calendar and see where you fit in.
Grace & Peace,
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