JR. Forasteros - July 6, 2014
Obadiah
In the face of tragedy, will we be agents for healing, or will we stand by and do nothing? The answer isn't found in the moment of the tragedy, but in the choices we make leading up to it. God spoke to Obadiah in the wake of the most devastating tragedy in Israel's history - the Babylonian conquest of Judah. Obadiah addressed not God's people, but their neighbors, the Edomites, who refused to aid Judah, and even aided the Babylonians in sacking Jerusalem. In God's warning to them, we hear a similar warning to enact justice now, in the small, every day choices we make.
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If you or your kids are in Garland ISD (like our Rowlett schools), then you know that school started last week. Which, for those keeping score at home, is really, really early for schools in the US. Garland ISD has announced they’re moving toward year-round schooling, doing away with the 3-month summer break.
And yeah… it’s weird, especially for those of us who grew up with this sort of rhythm. But did you know we’re the only country in the world that offers public education that does a 3-month break? That’s right. Other developed countries have always done year-round schooling. Our summer-break schedule was created when the US was an agrarian society and the majority of children in public education needed to be home for the summer to help with their family farms.
That hasn’t been the case for over 100 years now, and yet our public school calendars are, in many cases, only now changing – or still haven’t changed – to reflect this.
And I don’t have a strong opinion on Garland ISD’s decision. I’m not a teacher there, I don’t have a kid in the district. But I think it’s interesting that they’re making this move now, the first ‘back to normal’ school year on the other side of the COVID pandemic.
Because the pandemic disrupted all of our rhythms. So if you’re going to change things up, now is a good time to do it, right?
And that’s what I really want to talk about. We are created for rhythms and routines. And we’ve all struggled as the world has opened back up to feel like we’re getting our feet under us again. So let’s explore together the rhythms that lead us to live.
