You Are Never Alone

                                                   “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:9)                                                       (Image courtesy of kasparstromman.com)

   

Years ago, during the first few days of my very first job as a school leader, a trusted colleague told me something that I carry to this day:  “Being a school leader is probably the world’s best ongoing values clarification exercise.”  And how right he was!  For as I got to know the people in my new school community, wade into the issues that accompanied their lives,  and ultimately made decisions  in line with my responsibilities, I had to sort out what I believed was right and just in a world with few “black and white” markers.  Through the process of weighing out the complex problems of human life and making my decisions, I was essentially revealing, testing and shaping my core beliefs; and given my formal leadership role in the school, I was thus, over time, also simultaneously revealing, testing and shaping the values of my school community, too.  The world’s best ongoing values clarification exercise indeed! 

Over time, I came to deeply appreciate the way the leader's decision-making responsibilities helped me to figure out who I am and what I believe in terms of core values.  But making decisions in accord with principles of what one can best discern is right and just is often not popular whatsoever.   At such times, the leadership journey seems trod on a deserted path.  Yet in such forlorn hours, we are always accompanied by our truest friend , as William Barclay perhaps says best:  "There are certain decisions which must be taken and certain roads that must be walked in the awful loneliness of our own souls.  And yet, in the deepest sense of all, even in these times, we are not alone, for never is God nearer to us." 

So, leaders, remind yourselves, the path may be lonely but beyond the gift of a life of service also comes an abiding clarity – that you are never LESS alone than when you are doing His work for his children, setting as many on the right path as you can.

                                              “Nothing before, nothing behind

                                              The steps of faith

                                               Fall on the seeming void, and find

                                              The rock beneath.”

                                                                 (John Greenleaf Whittier)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the road that you have prepared especially for me.  Knowing that You always go before me and and are with me, let me always move with confidence and courage down that path, regardless of what may arise along the journey.  I pray that You guide me in my steps and that I may be open to Your guidance until that day when I finally arrive home with You.

Amen.

Relationships

"But now faith, hope, love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love."
                                (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Image courtesy of Pixgood.com




We are living in a results culture. And that certainly is the case for those working in education these days. Quarterly reports, progress monitoring, collective accountability, levels of performance, effectiveness scores -- these are but a few of the means aimed at holding educators responsible for moving the needle on student achievement and success.

But Dave Weber, the opening keynoter of the AWSA Associate Principals' Convention this past week, effectively made the case why we should start with cultivating robust staff relationships and school community if we truly are dedicated to transforming learning results for students. In his arguments, Dave pointed to the research of Dr. Roland Barth, who found that "the nature of the relationships of the adults that inhabit a school has more to do with the school's quality and character and with the accomplishments of its pupils than any other factor." Similarly, the Harvard Principals' Center asserted that "the most powerful predictor of student achievement is the quality of the relationships among the staff."

In a results culture focused on hard data, these reminders about the soft skills of relationship and community building are helpful and timely reminders. But for Christians, these findings should not be all that surprising. Two thousand years ago, Jesus asserted that all the Law and the Prophets could be summed up in just two commandments: (1) love God and (2) love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Therefore, ultimately everything in life comes down to our relationship with our Maker and our relationships with people. And in both, we are to display love.

So maybe the Beatles had it right when they attested that "All You Need is Love." Or at least, it seems, that's where we should start and sustain the focus. And in an accountability culture gone on steroids, keeping the focus on love and relationship is arguably more important now than ever.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for showing me what true love is. Help me to crave an ever deeper relationship with You, so that You can teach me Your ways. In my daily walk, teach me how to not only talk like a Christian but more importantly how to love like Christ through my relationships with those whom I lead and serve -- so that people may know that I am a Christian by my love. Into Your warm embrace I commend my spirit.
Amen.