Seasonal Growth

From the Storm Bulletin, Nov. 21, 2008

As I write today, I am watching what is, for me, an unfamiliar sight. Snow is falling and life as I know it is slowly changing before my very eyes. What was once green is now white, what was once dry is now wet, the clear has become hazy, and warmth has been replaced by arctic cold. Cautious drivers are now respected (usually) on the roads and grabbing the hand of your friend while walking on slippery sidewalks is seen as prudent, not weird (OK, not for teenage guys). But in a matter or hours, or days, or weeks, or perhaps months, the white will once again become green, the wet will become dry, haze will give way to sunshine, and the frigid air will warm the face. Cautious drivers will once again get run off the road, and holding hands will be reserved only for those in the best of relationships.

That’s nice, you say, but exactly what does it have to do with Providence?

I’m glad you asked. You see, life at school is a bit like the weather: erratic on the one hand, yet perfectly predictable on the other. It can be 75 degrees in November but snow in April (in Michigan, at least). How do we know what to expect (That’s the erratic part) But one thing we do know about the weather: there will be seasons; a winter, a spring, a summer, and a fall. And over the course of the entire year we will see them all (that’s the predictable part). Educational methods, priorities, and even results can vary from day to day and from year to year. And our students (as you may know, since they are your children) are about as unpredictable as the weather! We are never quite sure what we will see on a given day; students will go through distinct seasons in their lives, as we all do, only more pronounced (like the differences in seasons in Michigan compared to the differences in seasons in Morocco). But just as we enjoy both the warmth of summer sunshine and the powerful beauty of a blizzard, there is much to appreciate in our kids and in our school. We may not particularly like blizzards, but you have to admit, they are amazing things to look at. We may not like everything we see in our kids, and we certainly may not like everything we see in our school, but when you take a step back and really contemplate, both are absolutely amazing works of God. He is
clearly the Lord of the weather, the Lord of our school, the Lord of our students, and the Lord of all creation!

Everyday at Providence may not be like soaking up the sun on the beaches of Florida. Some days are just plain cold and snowy. But we can be sure that the weather will change; springtime is coming – it always does. And for that, we can all be grateful to God.