250. At Home Again.

“So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Day 250! And yet, in some ways, it feels like we’re back at the beginning of the pandemic. Yesterday, Grace announced a temporary move to fully-remote learning. Thanksgiving break will start at the end of school today. After the holiday, we’ll have two weeks of remote learning. A return to in-person learning will happen on December 14.

It’s tempting to feel like we’re back at square one, but we’re not. We’ve come a long way. We have made it through thirteen weeks of in-person learning without a single COVID diagnosis in our faculty, staff, or student body. I am incredibly grateful to God. I am also proud of and thankful for our students and families who have done their part and taken the pandemic seriously. And the teachers. Oh, our teachers. What an amazing job they have done (and continue to do) this year!

I write this morning with gratitude and hope. Christ will be with us while we spend this time apart, keeping one another safe and contributing to larger efforts of mitigation (wear a mask; seriously). Remote learning always poses challenges, but not challenges that good, faithful people won’t overcome. And hey, I don’t have to pack any lunches for a while.

We’ve got this, and God’s got us.

And yeah, Day 250. Wow. Thanks for reading.

Be well, friends. You are loved.

God, you alone are our hope. Give us the energy to persevere. Continue to uplift and sustain us. Bless all teachers and students in all places. Keep them safe, keep them learning, keep them in hope. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Image: The Lyle kids, ready for one last day of learning before Thanksgiving break.