Dear school moms and dads,
It’s an exciting day at CrossLife Christian Academy! First day of school! Everybody is thrilled. The welcoming aroma of coffee fills the patio along with a buzz of positivity and some Christian music.
Here and there, I see your tears. Especially in preschool families. Watery messengers sent from the heart. Sometimes a child. Sometimes a mom. And, goodness, dad wasn’t crying until they all were crying and now he is, too!
Why? There’s little to be afraid of. This is a safe, friendly place oozing with a teacher’s love and colorful toys and smart boards and frosted donuts. So why the tears?
Because the closeness and intimacy of family love is being tested. Stretched.
Preschoolers wonder, “Are mom and dad leaving me forever?” Mom and dad wonder, “Will our preschooler grow up in 7 hours, graduate, move to Denver, and be gone from our lives?”
Silly, I know. Or maybe not so silly? Maybe real?
What will happen to your love? Your closeness? Here’s what will happen, at least here in the classrooms, hallways and playscape of CrossLife Christian Academy.
Closeness and love will grow bigger and get stronger. How? The love of Jesus. The almighty power of God. You are leaving your child—momentarily away from your presence—in the presence of God and of his Son Jesus.
God is here. Jesus is here. In the Bible lessons. In the pictures on the wall. In the posters hung lovingly by the teachers. In the songs your child sings.
And they grow closer to God. More intimate with Jesus. Without losing any love for you. As a matter of fact, the love between your child and God makes their love for you grow even more. Even if you’re away from each other for the day.
One mom in the Bible experienced exactly this. Her name is Hannah. She took her son, Samuel, to the church school and left him there. She knew it would be okay. She knew it was the right thing. She knew he’d grow closer to God.
And he did. Samuel became one of the greatest prophets in the history of God’s people. I wonder what would have happened if his mom hadn’t had the faith and courage to leave him that day.
Hannah knew that Samuel was a gift from God, and that his closeness to God needed to develop without her own uncertainties interfering. God rewarded that faith, which apparently flickered into a flame in the heart of Samuel, too.
When she dropped him off, he may have shed a tear, but it gave way to something he knew and loved even more than his mom. His God.
Hannah recalls, “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give [Samuel] to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there” (1 Samuel 1:27).
PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for all school moms and dads, and all students today. I pray for our Christian Academy that the love, power and presence of Jesus draws students close to you today. Even through tears. Amen.
FURTHER MEDITATION: Take 5 minutes. Read the first part of this story about Hannah and Samuel in the Bible. Turn to 1 Samuel 1.