As I sit and reflect on the past 6 years and the miraculous unfolding of the sovereign will of God in the lives of so many, I am overwhelmed at His story that He is writing, and at the Work of His hands.  We call ACA, God’s school.  Our prayer is that it will always be His and His alone.  The Lord spoke to me this year about how we are never to have a “Head of School” position here at His school.  Jesus is the Head.  That means that He leads, He guides, He oversees, He directs, He sets our course.  In every way.  I have been asked what’s the hardest part about running a school, and my answer is: letting Jesus be in charge and doing what He asks rather than what I feel like doing or want to do.  It is incredibly difficult not to conform to the “normal” way of doing things, and to not do what all other schools do at times.  It is also hard not to be influenced by others opinions and thoughts of how things should be done as well.  One of the foundational verses for God’s school is:

 “And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”  Romans 12:2

My prayer is that He would be the CHIEF INFLUENCE of my life in every area.  That He would influence my decisions more than anything.  More than friends, more than my family, more than my regrets of the past or my fears of tomorrow, more than my selfish desires, more than human reasoning, more than my desire to please others,  more than seeking the approval of others or the desire to be understood.  THE CHIEF INFLUENCE of my life, of my heart, of all I am.  My prayer is the same for His school.  That He would remain the CHIEF INFLUENCE of Alexander Christian Academy.  It is so difficult at times to resist the pressures to conform to the ways of the world and to conform to what seems “normal” to others.  He has redefined the word normal to me.  I never want to go back to the routine of “normal life” and the mold that this temporary life will squeeze you into with its worries and fears.  It steals all Joy and removes the LIFE that Jesus promised.

The thief comes not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

I need LIFE to flow through me.  There is so much hurt, so much brokenness, so much hopelessness, so many searching for The Truth.  Jesus is the Way, He is the Truth, He is the LIFE and no one can come to the Father except through Him.  He makes a way where there seems to be no way.  I know His rescuing power.  I know His redeeming work.  I have seen Him form the most amazing vessels from the most broken lives.  I am the work of His hands.  God’s school is the work of His hands.  Families that are being rebuilt, repaired, revived, and restored are the work of His hands.  Students that have fully surrendered their lives to following Him are the works of His hands.  He is the Potter, and we are the clay.  He has an intricate plan for each of us.  He molds the clay, He softens the clay, He works the clay, He forms the clay and shapes the clay.  He never takes His hands off of us.  He puts us in the center of His wheel.  I want to stay in the center of His will, all of my days, as the work of His hands.

Jesus, You are the Head of Your school.  Let Your perfect will be done right here on earth, just as it is in Heaven!  Give us the boldness, courage, and grace to follow You as You lead us!  Lead on LORD, we will follow YOU!