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Editorial: Back to School!

Published Date: September 1, 2022

Do you remember what it was like to start school each August or September as a kid? There was a mixture of nerves, excitement, and terror. So much was unknown. Friendships might’ve been up in the air, rumors may have circulated that your homeroom teacher was the meanest of them all, and you might have started the day by spilling orange juice on your new outfit. That whole first week of the new school year felt a bit like you were living someone else’s reality. Eventually, however, you accepted this new grade-level as your own and were free to learn and grow in all the ways you could.

First days provide us with an opportunity. They give us the chance to celebrate what otherwise seems very ordinary. They represent a beginning, after which countless possibilities await. While they might make us nervous, we know that we will grow in ways far more wonderful than expected.

Ceremonies surrounding first days are numerous. Even graduation day is a beginning, a “commencement.” It is the first day of the rest of our lives. Indeed, every day could be considered the first day of the rest of our lives. Each day offers the opportunity for a fresh start. We have no way to rewind or fast-forward life – today is the only day that is tangible at any given moment. Even our last day on this side of eternity is our first day in the unfettered presence of our Lord.

If you haven’t had a first day of school or work in a while, perhaps you can still find a reason to celebrate the ordinary as well as the extraordinary. While God is certainly on the move in miracles and the like, He is also present in mundane routine. So much growth happens as we find a rhythm that includes constant communion with the Most High. May the Lord help us to be faithful in the ordinary and thankful for each first day we encounter on this side of heaven.

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