There are yet a few days left in the school year, but we can observe with joy and thanksgiving that God has given us a remarkable and healthy year.  We addressed pandemic realities with care but not panic.  We complied with State orders where they did not infringe on parental rights.  We treated our children like children,  not like worrisome super-spreaders.  Parents that had greater need or desire for additional precautions were gracious and patient.  Disagreements over appropriate Covid responses did not split us apart, though good people came to different conclusions.  In short, what mercy and grace God has shown us!  We were able to give our students a full, robust year of instruction, and even now we are planning a Commencement and End-of-Year Soirees.  Let us remember the name of the Lord our God in this time of celebration and relief.

We’ve never seen such clear contrasts between the road that government schooling is taking, and the road that Christian education takes.  The State of Oregon is going all in on Critical Race Theory and LGBTQ+.  Even the feeble support ODE gives for the Constitution and the Christian history that shaped it will be supplanted.  Public education will be all Agenda. So it’s a good time to be a Christian school, whether it’s Geneva, or UVC, or your homeschool! Coupled with that thought is appreciation for what Geneva has accomplished this year.  We have a few weeks of school left, but now seems a good time to highlight some successes, made possible by God’s grace and provision, and good people He’s given to serve Geneva families.

What Contrasts did, and what Pugin did, was lift up to a nation an impassioned explanation of two choices.  On one side was what the nation had been, and what it stood for.  On the other was the direction it was heading.  He underlined very Christian principles and meanings to the debate.  His was the world of architecture and design, and his argument largely prevailed. There are many lessons here for Geneva parents and all who are supporting our Christian educational mission.  One is that study of the past, informed by a Biblical worldview and Christian history, helps us see more clearly the truly good and beautiful, and the falsely so.  Another is that even in “technical” fields, there are underlying assumptions about the universe, humanity, and morals that guide the outcome of work in those fields, and that Christians better be in them!  I could add the impact that a single, convicted person with gifting might have on an entire discipline and even country.  Or the importance of actually doing something about what’s important, rather than leaving it to others to hopefully figure out.

The wonder of the Ascension is that even now our humanity is seated at the right hand of the Father, in the glorified human nature of Jesus Christ. In Christ, heaven broke in, and is even now breaking into our own reality and turning wickedness to His Holy purpose for us and our salvation.  Our God reigns! We can rest confident in his wise rule, because He has ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father.

We are giving thanks this week for the wonderful provision of God at our Annual Auction.  Facilitated by many volunteer hands, who worked sometimes into early mornings and through weekends, the school met its lofty fundraising goals. What I’d like to remember here is the admonition in Deuteronomy 8 to look to God as much after His blessings as before.  God told his people, “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.”   (A thought arises: I often give thanks before a meal, but have I ever given thanks after?)  Of course, God is not talking about a single meal here, but about a wide provision... not just about one prayer, but about an attitude, a posture.