School's In Forever!

I have an old vintage faded orange t-shirt with a chest-wide yellow sunburst in the center.  In the middle of the sunburst is the phrase “School’s Out for Summer!”  If you’ve never heard it, it was a famous line in a rock anthem.  I only get to wear it for a couple of months and then it has to be put back in the closet for another year.  Well today, I had to put it back in the closet.  I heard the first school bus throw on its breaks as it picked up my neighbors’ kids.  A friend of mine told me she did a run through on her bus route last week.  It is that time.

I saw a Facebook status this morning where a mother who just saw her daughter off to college a few weeks ago was now wishing her son a wonderful first day as a freshman in high school.  I remember that year.  Whew!  Felt good to get middle school off my back.  The year before I had gotten in trouble for hanging with a group who was lighting firecrackers, smoking a cigarette behind a tree on school property, and passing out in the bathroom during first hour because I had drank enough whiskey before getting on the bus to knock a cow over.  I remember trying to fit in, trying to make friends and trying to numb any pain I had.  I also remember being grounded all but two weeks that year.   When I got to high school, I was singing a new tune.  No more firecrackers, smoking or drinking for me!

It’s easy to forget how much each child brings with them to school each day.  Some are coming from poverty so deep they are too hungry to learn.  Others come with no sleep… again… because they were up half the night listening to family members fight through the night.  Still others come with pain deeper than we can ever imagine: their mother died of cancer, their brother is incarcerated, their father is still out of work.  Some feel stupid simply because they don’t fit the system of education we use in America.  They aren’t stupid.  But they sure feel like it when they can’t pass a test or memorize a list of names and dates.  Some are just lonely.  They seemingly have all their needs met, and carry a smart phone in their pocket and the newest tablet in their backpack.  But their parents have to work more hours to pay for them both, along with the new shoes and the car in the parking lot.  Some of our students spend way too much time alone, waiting… waiting for parents to get home, for a friend to call, or stranger to care.  So many of them live online creating a whole new world there. 

As certain t-shirts are put away for another year and as backpacks get filled with everything from crayons to the latest electronic gadgets, let’s keep a few people in our prayers.  Each student needs prayers of hope and love.  There is nothing worse than losing hope and there is nothing lonelier than not feeling loved.  Each bus driver is carrying a load worth its weight in gold.  Remember to pray for each one you see drive by each day.  Their minds can be as easily distracted as any of ours.  And we certainly cannot forget the teachers… pre-school teachers wiping tears and running noses, middle school teachers helping show a better way to lost students, high school teachers inspiring our youth to new heights and a future of hope, and college professors who walk alongside students both young and old, as they search their path in this life.  And let’s not forget to pray for all the parents out there.  There is no harder job than to raise a child, and no greater joy than to see them succeed. 

Gracious and holy God, bless this school year for each student and teacher, bus driver and parent.  Walk close by and whisper sweet somethings along the way.  And when each day is done, allow them all to fall into your gracious and loving arms, so they may fully rest before a new day arises.  All honor be yours, forever and ever.  Amen.