I recently remembered an old movie I watched called, “Scaramouche“. It’s a classic and if you haven’t seen it, you totally should. With buttered popcorn…and peanut m&m’s:).

There’s a great scene where the main character is learning how to fence. The instructor tells him to hold the foil like a little bird, “too tightly- you’ll choke it, too lightly- it will fly away.”

Hold it like a little bird.

In the last few months, we’ve walked our children through some crazy and unpredictable times. This year, we have a a little guy who’s entering 3rd grade, a freshman in high school, and a freshman who just moved to college. But when this whole pandemic began, those same children entered the school year as a 2nd grader, 9th grader, and you guessed it- a senior from the Class of 2020. Daily we would find ourselves having to learn to hold the days like that little bird mentioned above, firm yet gentle. The tighter we gripped, the more we felt things almost vanish and be ripped from our children’s school year; the more loosely we held it it seemed to just kind of fall between the cracks of our hands.

Like many of us all over the world, we weren’t sure how to adapt and adjust. We weren’t sure how long this season would last. We weren’t sure of much at the time however, we knew we had to find a way to still hold onto the good in the midst of all the bad and difficult that seemed to surround us.

In the movie I mentioned, the main character eventually developed the skill needed for the task at hand. He became a great fencer, and was able to anticipate the next move of his opponent & and adjust his next move accordingly. In my humble opinion, our role as parents in this season is much like that of a fencer- we must learn to hold onto God’s Word as we adapt and adjust to the challenges that will come – and they will come friend. Try as we might, we cannot fix these experiences for our children. What we can do is demonstrate to our children what is of most importance: Holding firmly to God’s Word & trusting in His promises. Ultimately, we must learn to hold onto hope with them for God’s best, even when the season we find ourselves in changes and plans have to be adjusted.

Friend, this new school year will be unlike any other. It won’t be normal, but we have the advantage – we can cheer each other on! Heck, we ourselves are still walking through all of this with you.

You, dear friend, are guiding and leading your kiddos into the unknown (cue Elsa from Disney’s Frozen!). Especially your seniors! The class of 2021 was granted a front row seat to watch their upperclassmen walk through a difficult season. Classes went remote. Lockers were cleaned out with the hope of returning. The return was cancelled. Classes finished online. Graduations & continuations were cancelled. Graduations and continuations became Drive-thru and online experiences. Some didn’t even get to have a ceremony. We were super blessed that our district was able to put ceremonies together in July (#weared51). And yes, it was crazy hot and we cried through the whole thing. It was worth it to see our sweet girl experience a dream come true even if it looked different than once imagined.

All of those experiences happened for a reason- to prepare your students, Class of 2021 (and you too, mama), for this season. Seasons change; that’s what they do. I think that’s why I love Fall so much is because you can visibly see the changes occurring in nature. Leaves change color and float to the ground. Fruit that was once on those same trees can be enjoyed later because they have been preserved. I truly believe that in this school year, as experiences continue to change, we will get to see some preservation. We just have to hold onto God and choose how we will respond to life as it happens.

Milestones can still be momentous and the experiences of this year can still be epic.

To your students, I say this: Hold onto the joy that this season can still bring. It might look totally different than you could’ve imagined but, you can do it. Whether learning remotely or in person, in a hybrid way or even homeschooling for this season, you have the opportunity to learn from those who literally walked before you and approach your school year with complete trust in God.

Parents of this new school year- Hold on. Class of 2021 -Hold on.

Friends, you and I get to choose how we will enter this season and how we will respond to ever-changing circumstances. Will we huff and puff and be mad at every turn because one more thing has been stripped away from our children’s experience? Or will we sing and even give thanks for how God will use these moments of loss for His glory? Let’s choose wisely friends. May we hold onto each other with gentleness and grace as we stick together and hold on to Him.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, today we just want to thank You for the strength You provide for us. Thank You Lord for enabling us to hold onto You and Your promises in the midst of all that we experience in this life. Lord, we choose today to hold Your Word deep within our hearts. It’s so easy to become frustrated at this new normal we are all experiencing, but You Lord, have offered us a better way – You’ve offered us the choice to put our hope in You. Today we know that this school year will not be like any we have experienced before. Lord, we surrender our expectations and ideas of this school year to You. We know that You are still providing ways and opportunities for us to stretch our faith and trust in Your plans. When our arms feel weak from the tasks of each day, help us to hold them up in surrender and worship to You. When our hearts and minds feel overwhelmed with decisions we are making for our children or with our children, help us to hold onto Your peace as we navigate this road together. Lord, help our eyes to see the joy that still remains and to help redirect the eyes and focus of our children – that they too may focus on the joy and beauty of this season as you prepare all of us for the seasons ahead. We trust You and invite You to do Your will in our lives and in the lives of our children. Amen.

Go The Extra Mile: This song below has been on my current playlist for a few weeks now…the chorus invites us to surrender and invite God to do whatever He wants to do. Friend, I pray this song blesses your heart and places hope deep within you. His way is better.

BONUS MATERIAL: Here is a pic of us with our 2020 Graduate on her actual graduation day. It happened almost 2 months later than planned but it happened! Praise God!