We all probably feel like we could use a fresh start right now. It’s been far too long that we have been cooped up, limited in our social outings, and restricted to hiding behind a mask. But maybe these limitations have given us a chance for a fresh new look.
Before COVID-19 hit, it was life as usual — the usual rush, the usual stress, the usual arguments, the usual boredom with church, school, and each other. And now? Well, we probably still have some of those same struggles because, let’s face it, we’re all human, but we have been given a fresh new look. It’s the hungry man that knows the value of food much more so than the one that always has his fill. And now we find ourselves hungry for the norm, hungry to go to church, hungry to be with each other, and suddenly we know more the value of these gifts, these blessings from the LORD. We have been given a fresh new look!
As a new teacher at Concordia this year, there are some things that stand out to me as I take a fresh look around our school. What a privilege it has been to rest and work in this place! From our maintenance staff, who were among the first to welcome and befriend me (a special shout out to Mr. Carl Woods) to our small, personalized class sizes and Koinonia groups to our deeply rooted foundation in the Truth, this is a rich place!
Lamentations 3:22b-23 says, “… his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Every morning through the windows in my classroom, I get to view the painting God has put in the sky for that day, every day. Each morning is a little different as the sun illuminates the clouds into glistening shades of the rainbow, but every morning the reminder is there. No matter how grand, normal, good, or bad a day may seem, His mercies are new every morning. “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). So let us look afresh and anew at what we have been given, how we can share it, and how we can keep growing. Sometimes the struggle is just what we need to help us have a fresh new look.
God’s Peace and Joy,
Heidi Wilkinson,
Science Teacher