What a joy to hear of all sorts of new things at the start of this week! One student shared with me that they had a new tooth. Another talked excitedly about meeting a new teacher this year. Another was bursting with descriptions of a new cousin. Throughout the day I was told about a new pool enjoyed over the summer summer, shown new lunchboxes, and asked to join in on delight of a fresh, brand new set of pencil crayons or markers. The school felt like the first few pages of an intriguing story all week long.
We all love to tell stories. In the last weekend of the summer my family went camping and, no surprise, stories around the crackling campfire were unpacked again like treasured collectibles even though we’ve all heard them before. Perhaps we like stories so much because they remind us that present problems will eventually be resolved and even the most incidental of things can find meaning when we are able to look over our shoulder and place them in a broader context. Lots of things make much more sense years after they happen.
These stories include hardship and challenge, but even more so tales of provision beyond what seemed possible, unexpected joy, and prayers that the made the seemingly impossible a reality. Well-told stories about the past often affirm for us what is most important, most trustworthy, most valuable. What are the stories we will tell about this year?
As we move in to this new year, we know that more stories will be created. We also boldly proclaim that God’s faithfulness will be known in them as another generation learns to walk faithfully before the Lord. The same faithful God who went with us before is still with us, indeed He “hems us in, behind and before.” (Ps. 139). May we be open to the new things the Lord will do this year and be encouraged by the overwhelming stories of his grace and care in the past.
SJ
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