Where does a new year put us?

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Psalm 91:!

Future LCES students born in this new year will be grade eight graduates in 2029. We are just as close to 2030 as we are 2000. One hundred years ago this year Einstein laid out his newly discovered theory of relativity, and 200 years ago Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo. Estimates point to Canada’s population pushing past 36 million this year  and the  world population will reach 7.3 billion by the time we see 2016.

A frequent tradition in my childhood home that I recall well was reading Psalms 90 & 91 shortly before and after midnight on New Year’s Eve.  All board games, movies, and everything stopped for these two chapters with a prayer in between as the bells tolled midnight. While I may have preferred then that it be left out, I now count those times as foundational in learning how to view God and time. These bookends of wisdom remind us not to be swept up in the immediacy of believing that only the short period of time behind and before us matter and that anything can happen.  God existed before mountains were created (90:2) and will protect us and “with long life” he will satisfy us. (90:16).

This new year will take LCES further along the road of faith and ask us to respond to events that may be a surprise to us, but not to God.  We will see needs arise; God promises he will meet all of them. We will see moments of joy; God rejoices in our delight in him and his world. We will face adversity; God promises he will be there.  We will seek out his will; God promises he will lead and guide us. We will cry out; God promises to hear us and answer.

Welcome back to  “Walking in the Way of Love” in January.                 SJ

P.S. Check out our grade four class modelling New Year's resolutions this morning in the first 2015 chapel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUT45aNORUI&feature=youtu.be