Be Strong, Be Brave, Be Fearless

We’ve all heard it said, and coming up with an example that proves the rule is a little bit more difficult sometimes, but it doesn’t make the saying any less true, ‘cause you know what they say – “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Change is hard.  Whether it’s the fear of the unknown, the fear of moving away from how it’s always been done, or even the fear of doing something that no one else has done before, it can be really hard to change.  Especially when we’re comfortable.
 
I could probably be the poster child for the “Change is Hard” movement.  As many of you know, I graduated from Zion, and, more than 20 years later, here I am.  If I wanted to leave no doubt in your mind about my “poster child” status, I’d tell you that I also live in the same house I grew up in.  And, if I really wanted to drive my point home, I’d tell you about how my parents live, literally, 50 feet away from my house.  See what I mean?  Change can be hard!
Hard as it may be though, change can also be a good thing. 
 
A recent blog post I stumbled upon actually listed 20 reasons for why change can be good.  Of those reasons, which were all pretty good, the one that really jumped out at me was “Change is learning.  Learning is growing.  Growing is living.  So live!”  This got me thinking…isn’t that kind of our wheelhouse here at Zion – learning?  Isn’t growing the goal in everything we do whether we’re talking about church or school?  Isn’t living the point to this whole thing we are doing?  So, why is this change all of a sudden so scary?
 
Zion finds itself staring change in the face this summer.  We’re saying goodbye to our 7th-8th grade teacher of six years, who has also been our leader these past three years.  How are we going to move forward?  What are we going to do?  How is this all going to work?  It can be scary stuff, especially if you don’t know where to look.
 
Joshua seemed to have a hard time with change.  Leader of the Israelite army, one may think leading Israel into the promised land would be a logical next step.  But, even knowing that this change was on the horizon, when it actually came to it, Joshua seems to hesitate.  If they were in 2018 it may have looked like this: Joshua breathing into a paper bag while God stood behind him massaging his shoulder telling him “You got this!”  Finally, God tells Joshua “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua rallies and then rallies the “troops” and forward they go – strong, courageous, and fearless.
 
Our school theme for next year is “Be Strong, Be Brave, Be Fearless” and it stems from Joshua 1:9.  Next fall is going to be different.  We are changing the way we do things.  We are removing the “principal” position and I will serve as administrator, working with the teachers to create a new path for Zion.  This will allow the teachers to focus on what they do best – teach.  We will be adding a more than qualified teacher in Mrs. Kateryna McCloskey, who comes right from the pews of Zion, and has been our go to sub in 2018.  We will also continue to push our students to be strong, courageous and fearless, and hopefully, have a little fun along the way.
 
So I guess it is true what they say, because the more things change at Zion, the more we realize that nothing is really changing at all.