In his letter to the Philippians, Paul says if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, to think about these things – and then put them into practice. Aiming for excellence requires a goal, a plan and hard work. The ethic of hard work requires self-control and discipline beginning at birth and developed step by step throughout life.
Helen Keller was blind and deaf from a childhood illness. Her tutor, Anne Sullivan, developed a plan to give Helen the tools for learning, demanded hard work, and never gave up. Helen went on to graduate with honors from Radcliffe, travel to 39 countries, receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and become a world leader and champion for the blind and deaf.
Looking back on raising three children, I can see now that it was through the struggles that each developed the tools for learning, problem solving skills, an ability to learn from defeat, and develop a vision for excellence. It begins with little things…letting a baby crawl over an obstacle rather than removing it, allowing a preschool child to carry his own backpack even though its heavy, suffering the consequences of a forgotten lunch or assignment. It does require a vision, a plan, and lots of hard work.
Jesus Christ is the vision God has for each of us. He never said life would be easy. Scripture is filled with examples of people who make mistakes, who suffer many trials, and are tempted to give up. As you seek the goal of excellence for yourself and your children, I pray God will give you a vision of what is Beautiful, Good, and True with the strength for trials of life.
Nancy Shaw
Head of School