I remember telling myself to pay attention when our daughter was little, I knew the days would go quickly, and they have. The memories of Eva’s younger years, when we were still the center of her universe, give us pause now as we look back and realize how much we have been blessed by the opportunity of raising her in a Christian home and to learn and thrive in a Christian school.
As I contemplated this thought, I was reminded of my own story and how I did not have the opportunity to be raised in a Christian home or to be educated in a Christian school. In fact, I did not give my life to Jesus until the age of 30. The road of discipleship for me has been a long and challenging path of unlearning my secular worldview and replacing it (by the power of the Holy Spirit) with God’s understanding of the world and my purpose in it. I am thankful beyond words to have been given the joy of raising a daughter in the ways of Jesus from the very beginning.
As we raise our children in Christian homes and in this Christian Community, we get great encouragement from Proverbs 22:6:
Train up a child in the way he should go:
And when he is old,
He will not depart from it.
At this point in my walk, I can’t imagine life without Jesus. I don’t even want to think about the life Eva would have without hope of Jesus and the life He brings. I take great hope in the power of the Word in my life, our family’s lives and those of each of your families.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul tells us:
“All Scripture is God-breathed, [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, [for conviction of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness, [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately- behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]” (AMP)
A few things come to mind as I think about how students at FRCS are being trained in the way they should go:
- Heartfelt Truths that make them wise for salvation
- Being equipped for good works
- Being prepared to present a reason for their hope
- Able to withstand the onslaught of a culture determined to indoctrinate them with secular values
This last one brings up another memory of Eva—she was standing on the Hurricane Deck at Niagara Falls. All around her was chaos. Yet she stood stable and firm knowing that the storm that raged would not hurt her. I am thankful for that image; it reminds me that Eva is being prepared for the storm of life, because she has the foundation for staying stable and firm in the way she should go.
The hope we have in knowing our children are walking in the truth because they have been trained by the God-breathed Word in our homes and school is priceless—a treasure worth fighting for and investing in. As we finalize another chapter in our the book of our children’s educations, let us thank God for the staff of FRCS that guide our children towards our Heavenly father.
