Success will come and go, but integrity is forever...

When I was about twelve years old a significant life-lesson took place. Shortly after an event much like last Saturday’s Fall-Fest, I received a phone call. A voice on the other end tried repeatedly to relay a message to me through a heavy accent. Eventually, I realized that they were telling me that they had found my wallet on the sidewalk in front of their house. I had not yet realized it went missing on my bumpy bike ride home from the Christian school bazaar.

I biked back to their home to retrieve it. I encountered a busy immigrant family that clearly didn’t have a lot of financial resources. They probably could have really used the newspaper route profits that were so poorly safe guarded on my part. I was old enough to realize that they had made a choice here, and I thanked them for choosing as they did. Without skipping a beat, the father said “There was no choice to make. Success will come and go, but integrity is forever.” Whether those were his own words or reference to someone else’s wisdom, I don’t know. They stuck like glue in my young mind.

As an adult and a parent, this memory prompts me to think about many things about responsibility and children. However, as an educator, this memory reminds me that there is immense benefit for a child when all people in their life are purposeful and deliberate about developing habits, mindsets, and perspectives that cultivate character and faith. All of them are made more powerful together than they would be on their own. You never know where and when the next golden learning opportunity will arise. When it comes, seize it!

From bus drivers to teachers, and from EA’s to volunteer coaches, I am grateful for the adults that surround our children at LCES and speak truth into their lives. SJ 

P.S If you had the chance to be in the building last Saturday, you will have noted a great day in progress. Pleasant fall aromas, happy voices, delicious food aplenty, and lots of entertaining things to see and do drew a steady crowd to our annual Fall Fest. We thank our very dedicated group of volunteer leadership and our many parent volunteers that made the day a great success!