For the first time, we held our Convocation during a school day. We brought in every single student and teacher connected to Holland Christian Schools—from our three elementary campuses, to our middle and high school campuses, to our homeschool connection folks. Parents and grandparents showed up too.
And there we were.
2,000 of us gathered in the gym at the high school.
One big family.
Families get together on holidays and hold family reunions to maintain the bonds they share and remind themselves of their common purpose. In our case, at Holland Christian Schools, every day we are Equipping Minds and Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ. Our teachers and administrators partner with parents and churches to pursue that mission vigorously. I know it. I've seen it.
But a lot of times, we get caught up in the everyday challenges of life inside our individual campus, our individual classrooms, our individual lives. Our field of vision narrows—not purposefully or maliciously, but just because nobody's perfect.
And that's why yesterday was so cool.
Here we sat with a visual reminder that we aren't in this alone . . . A big, huge blinking neon sign that said, "No man is an island!" Not the 3-year old jumping out of his shoes because he's so excited about the first day of school, and not the senior who is wrestling with the looming decision of where to go to college.
We are one body.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ.
And like our theme for the year says, we are living Life Together.
So for half an hour yesterday, we reminded ourselves of that. We recited scripture together in a beautiful call and response. We sang songs—the most wonderful mix of voices you ever did hear. And we dedicated the year ahead to the Lord. That shared focus . . . that bond, is the thing that holds our HCS family together. It's why we had a family reunion yesterday in the gym.
As students were arriving and the room was half full, the buzz of shared conversations filled the air. My daughter's class arrived, and as she walked in, she excitedly called, "Daddy! Daddy!" It's funny how this happens, but even though my back was turned and background noise abounded, my ears perked up, and I thought, I hear my daughter's voice.
As we sang together, I pictured God looking down and saying the same thing. "I hear my daughter's voice. I hear my son's voice." And it sounded like this:
And there we were.
2,000 of us gathered in the gym at the high school.
One big family.
Families get together on holidays and hold family reunions to maintain the bonds they share and remind themselves of their common purpose. In our case, at Holland Christian Schools, every day we are Equipping Minds and Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ. Our teachers and administrators partner with parents and churches to pursue that mission vigorously. I know it. I've seen it.
But a lot of times, we get caught up in the everyday challenges of life inside our individual campus, our individual classrooms, our individual lives. Our field of vision narrows—not purposefully or maliciously, but just because nobody's perfect.
And that's why yesterday was so cool.
Here we sat with a visual reminder that we aren't in this alone . . . A big, huge blinking neon sign that said, "No man is an island!" Not the 3-year old jumping out of his shoes because he's so excited about the first day of school, and not the senior who is wrestling with the looming decision of where to go to college.
We are one body.
We are brothers and sisters in Christ.
And like our theme for the year says, we are living Life Together.
So for half an hour yesterday, we reminded ourselves of that. We recited scripture together in a beautiful call and response. We sang songs—the most wonderful mix of voices you ever did hear. And we dedicated the year ahead to the Lord. That shared focus . . . that bond, is the thing that holds our HCS family together. It's why we had a family reunion yesterday in the gym.
As students were arriving and the room was half full, the buzz of shared conversations filled the air. My daughter's class arrived, and as she walked in, she excitedly called, "Daddy! Daddy!" It's funny how this happens, but even though my back was turned and background noise abounded, my ears perked up, and I thought, I hear my daughter's voice.
As we sang together, I pictured God looking down and saying the same thing. "I hear my daughter's voice. I hear my son's voice." And it sounded like this:
What a day!
What a family reunion!
