Beautifully Orchestrated Experiences

by Molly Dillon / Keizer Campus Principal

I love a good spring thunderstorm, and last weekend provided quite a show where I live! Even though I’m “all growed up” I still enjoy counting “One-Mississippi, two-Mississippi…” after each flash of lightning, waiting in eager anticipation for the thunder, to determine whether the lightning is moving closer or farther away. Sometimes it’s underwhelming, barely detectable, yet on rare occasions it can be exhilarating as the powerful, thunderous boom reverberates through the neighborhood, the impact shaking my house. As God lit up the Saturday night sky, I enjoyed a front row seat to the awesome display of creation in action.

As parents and educators, we have been given a front row seat to an equally awesome display of our children living out their discipleship. We may not often experience a thunderous boom, but the impact is both seen and heard throughout our community.  In a recent journal entry, a second-grader beautifully documented the significance of a missional field trip she had just returned from. “Today we went to be missionaries at the Brookdale Retirement Center. The people there liked all of us and thought we all were pretty. We handed out May Day baskets with flowers in them. Being a missionary brings me joy and everlasting joy for the people.” As our second-graders exuberantly recited their bible verses, sang praises and honored their elders, they were, as the Apostle Paul describes, “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:2).    

A speech pathologist providing services to one of our students in first grade was recently moved to tears after their session. She shared with her student that she needed to take a leave of absence to care for her sick husband.  Without hesitation, the student quickly replied, “I know what I am going to do, I am going to PRAY for you!”  This was a profound moment of ministry to an adult in her life who isn’t walking with the Lord. Each week at chapel, a preschool student distributes her offering to fellow students who do not have one so they may also participate in this important form of worship. In simple and magnificent ways, our students are demonstrating Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

God is doing a mighty work at Crosshill, beautifully orchestrating experiences by which our children are living out their discipleship. As they continue to follow and grow closer to Jesus, they are proving to be powerful flashes of godly influence, gloriously lighting up this dark world!
 
– Molly Dillon / Keizer Campus Principal